Dissertation Research: Belief Systems, Psychological Affliction, and Traditional Treatment of Mental Illness among Maya Indians of Highland Chiapas, Mexico

这个项目将研究Tzeltal和Tzotzil玛雅人如何体验、诊断和治疗精神障碍。将花费24个月的时间收集数据，以解决三个领域中相互关联的问题：(1)传统玛雅民族精神病学，(2)玛雅民族精神病学模式与西方生物医学精神病学模式的关系，以及(3)医学多元化和精神障碍治疗手段的等级。民族流行病学调查将是该项目的核心。这项调查将确定正在研究的精神疾病的患病率和文化定义，形成在研究的后续阶段筛选病例的基础，并为招募自我确认的民间障碍病例奠定基础。在这一地区还没有开展以精神障碍患者的经历为重点的活动，这将提供关于精神疾病、民族医疗实践系统、指导治疗选择的信仰、信仰和行为之间的动态关系以及土著和生物医学系统之间的关系的宝贵信息。使用西方精神病学评估工具(例如，计算机化诊断面谈时间表)将提供关于心理障碍的文化差异的比较信息。重要的是，对玛雅障碍及其定义和治疗的了解将使公共卫生官员能够更有效地为玛雅人设计治疗策略。

This project will examine how the Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya experience, diagnose and treat mental disorders. A period of 24 months will be spent collecting data that will address interrelated concerns within three domains: (1) traditional Maya ethnopsychiatry, (2) the relationship of the Maya ethnopsychiatric model to the Western biomedical psychiatric model, and (3) medical pluralism and hierarchy of resort of treatment of mental disorders. An ethnoepidemiology survey will be central to the project. This survey will establish the prevalence and cultural definition of the mental conditions under study, form the basis for screening of cases in subsequent stages of the research, and for recruitment of self-identified cases of recognized folk disorders. Focus on the experiences of the sufferers of mental disorders has yet to be undertaken in this region and will provide valuable information on the afflictions, the system of ethnomedical practice, the beliefs which direct treatment choice, the dynamic relation between belief and behavior, and the relation between the indigenous and biomedical systems. The use of the Western psychiatric assessment instruments (e.g., Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule) will provide comparative information on cultural variation in psychological disorders. Importantly, knowledged gained about Maya disorders and their definition and treatment will allow public health officials to more effectively design treatment strategies for the Maya.