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Arthur J. Rubel, Carl W. O'Nell, and Rolando Collado-Ardon
Susto
A Folk Illness
$26.95, £15.95 paperback
978-0-520-07634-1
Available Now
195 pages,
November 1984, Available worldwide
Categories: Anthropology; Medical Anthropology; Latin American Studies; Psychology
November 1984, Available worldwide
Categories: Anthropology; Medical Anthropology; Latin American Studies; Psychology
"Unlike so much research in ethnomedicine, [Susto] goes beyond an emic, descriptive analysis to explore a folk defined illness in a methodologically sophisticated manner. . . . An innovative and valuable book."—Michael H. Logan, Reviews in Anthropology
"The study is a model of its kind. . . . The question of whether there are culture-specific illnesses ultimately may prove to be unanswerable. But it needs to be addressed, and Rubel, O'Nell, and Collado have moved that effort a long step forward."—David Landy, Science
"The study is a model of its kind. . . . The question of whether there are culture-specific illnesses ultimately may prove to be unanswerable. But it needs to be addressed, and Rubel, O'Nell, and Collado have moved that effort a long step forward."—David Landy, Science
Widespread throughout Latin America, susto is a folk illness associated with a broad array of symptoms. It is considered by susceptible populations to be a sickness caused by the separation of soul and body which is precipitated by a supernatural force. Most studies of culture-bound diseases have relied on descriptive approaches that focus on pathologies derived from medical textbooks. This study takes an interdisciplinary approach, looking for explanations of susto in the interaction of social, physiological, and psychological factors.