BALINT GA; GHEBREKIDAN H; BALINT EE
Catha edulis, an international socio-medical problem with considerable pharmacological implications.
East Afr Med J. 1991 Jul. 68(7). P 555-61.
It is evident from the mentioned studies that the medical and psychosocial effects of khat chewing are hazardous both to the individual and the community. The habituation of khat chewing seriously effects the psychoeconomic structure of the subject. Being aware of the increasing prevalence of khat chewing (often together with other drugs), it is essential to assess the health and socio-economic problems of khat habituation in order to take further, appropriate medical and social measures.
BRIGHTMAN, ROBERT A; MEYER, DAVID; MARANO, LOU
On Windigo Psychosis
Current Anthropology; 1983, 24, 1, Feb, 120-121.
Comments are offered on Lou Marano's discussion of the windigo literature (see SA 32:5/84O2852). Robert A. Brightman (University of Wisconsin, Madison) finds excessively categorical Marano's claim that the cannibalism ascribed to windigos is solely an ideological rationalization for homicide, given records of cannibalism among Northern Algonkians. David Meyer (Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon) finds valuable Marano's debunking of the windigo psychosis concept, but calls for attention to variation in windigo beliefs among varied cultures. In Reply, Lou Marano (Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa) questions the validity of Brightman's evidence for the actual occurrence of windigo behavior & examines some additional evidence on windigo beliefs. Both emic & etic analyses appear to be needed.
CARRANZA ACEVEDO, JOSE
Behavioral changes induced by the chronic administration of amphetamines.
Foreign Psychiatry; 1973 Fal Vol. 2(3) 42-47
Randomly divided male CFW Swiss strain mice into 4 groups of 10 Ss each. Dextroamphetamine was administered for 35 days to Groups 1 and 2 in intraperitoneal doses of 5 and 8 mg/kg daily, respectively, and to Group 3 orally in a daily dose of 1 mg/kg. Group 4 acted as a control. Abnormal behaviors observed in Groups 1 and 2 consisted of social disorganization, self-inflicted lesions, hallucinatory behavior, cannibalism, and autism. Group 3 demonstrated hyperactivity and cannibalism. It is suggested that the model of behavioral abnormality produced by dextroamphetamine is indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia in humans and will better serve in analyzing psychotic syndromes than the psychoses produced by LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin.
DORNSTREICH, MARK D; MORREN, GEORGE E B
Does New Guinea Cannibalism Have Nutritional Value?
Human Ecology; 1974, 2, 1, Jan, 1-12.
Any attempt to establish the material value of cannibalism in tropical nutrition must be empirical, & placed within a context of local human ecology & a subsistence patterns. An attempt is made to consider (1) how some aspects of a generalized ecological approach to the study of subsistence patterns can be related to cannibalism, (2) suggestions as to what quantitative considerations the practice of cannibalism involves, as well as what kind of ecological data is necessary to research this question from an empirical point of view, & (3) to refer to several accounts of cannibalism as it occurs in New Guinea, & to outline the conclusion that the nutritional benefits or significance of the practice of cannibalism has to be viewed against the background of the behavior of these aborigines. The practice of cannibalism becomes interesting when one considers its historical persistence, its frequent occurrence & its labeling--by anthropologists--as a manifestation of bizarre behavior. The question of nutritional value of cannibalism is examined; this cannot properly be determined except in the context of the total subsistence economy & local human ecology. A format for the empirical investigation of food-getting & new ethnographic information about New Guinea cannibalism is presented. It is determined that this practice does have nutritional value for tropical peoples living at low-medium population densities & exploiting a diverse range of animal foods.
FORSYTH, DONALD W
The Beginnings of Brazilian Anthropology: Jesuits and Tupinamba Cannibalism
Journal of Anthropological Research; 1983, 39, 2, summer, 147-178.
Jesuit missionaries who lived & worked among the Tupian-speaking Indians of sixteenth-century costal Brazil have provided valuable information on the customs & practices of these Indians. The contributions to Brazilian ethnography of such Jesuits as Nobrega, Anchieta, Cardim, Soares, & others is illustrated by translations from their writings, most of which are unavailable in English. In particular, William Arens's thesis (The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy, New York: Oxford University Press, 1979) that Brazilian Indians really did not practice cannibalism as reported by French & German sources is reexamined. The Jesuit sources strongly support the argument that anthropophagy was an integral part of Tupian cultural practice.
HUSELID RF; SELF EA; GUTIERRES SE
Predictors of successful completion of a halfway-house program for chemically-dependent women.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 1991; 17(1): 89-101
Female substance abusers' attributions about the stability and globality of positive and negative life events were used as predictors of successful completion of a halfway-house treatment program. Instead of the typical beneficial effects associated with a self-serving attributional style, subjects who attributed their own recent negative life events to global (wide influence on life) and stable (always present) causes were more likely to successfully complete the treatment program. Subjects who perceived the cause of their first substance abuse (whether alcohol or another drug of abuse) as global and likely to affect substance abuse in the future also were more successful in completing the program. Not surprisingly, subjects who indicated that the cause of their quitting substance abuse was likely to lead them to stay off their drug of abuse in the future were more successful in completing the program. Finally, the amount and helpfulness of social support provided by a subject's AA sponsor were both significantly correlated with program completion. These results are interpreted as consistent with the program's Alcoholics Anonymous philosophical orientation.
LEON CARRION J
Mental performance in long-term heavy cannabis use: a preliminary report.
Psychol Rep. 1990 Dec; 67(3 Pt 1): 947-52
Mental performance of 23 male chronic cannabis users was measured on the 1958 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and compared with scores of a control group. Analysis showed significant differences on nine of the 14 scores especially those indicating capacity for compromise, the elaboration of adequate judgments, and the capacity of verbalization and communication.
MALITZ S, ESECOVER H, WILKENS B, HOCH PH
Some observations on Psilocybin, a new hallucinogen, in volunteer subjects.
Comp.Psychiat. 1:8-17 (1960)
Fourteen student volunteers, 12 men and 2 women aged 20-27 were given 8-36 mg. (average 24 mg) Psilocybin orally. The perceptual responses (visual hallucinations in 12, illusions in 9, body image distortions in 10 and temporal distortion in 5 subjects), affective responses (euphoria in 10, anxiety in 9 and depression in 5 subjects), cognitive alterations (impairment in verbalizing thoughts, disorganized thinking, loosening of associations, flight of ideas, inability to abstract) and autonomic responses (pupillary dilation in 14, nausea in 6, dizziness in 6, flushing in 4, abdominal complaints in 3, blood pressure and pulse changes in 3 cases) were qualitatively similar to the responses that were previously observed in subjects given LSD. With Psilocybin, a greater disturbance of thinking was noted in the cognitive sphere; this may be due to dosage or personality differences. in 4 of 8 cases, the EEG showed increases in alpha frequency (0.5 to 3.0 c.p.s). Duration of drug effect; beginning 30-60 minutes after ingestion, peak response in 1.5-2 hours, rapid subsidence. A few subjects were symptom-free in 5-6 hours. Post-drug effects: headache 5, drowsiness and lethargy 3, diarrhea 1, depression in the evening of the study 1 subject. This drug acts like a toxic agent producing autonomic disturbances and has nonspecific psychic stress on the total organism.
MCLAREN, CAROL SHEEHAN
Moment of Death: Gift of Life-A Reinterpretation of the Northwest Coast Image 'Hawk'
Anthropologica; 1978, 20, 1-2, 65-90.
Studies of Northwest Coast Indian cultures can draw on two important anthropological traditions, those of Boas & Levi-Strauss, whose major strengths are, respectively, fieldwork & structural logic. Boas's studies of Northwest Coast art rest on an inadequate model of meaning in which each design is given a single noun as a name, rather than having its full range of implied activity understood. The image 'Hawk' identified by Boas is an anomaly, in that the image is used virtually everywhere while the hawk is not an important mythological creature, & in that the portrayal is not like the hawk in key traits, such as having both a beak & a mouth. A major mythic entity for the Kwagiu, however, is the salmon, which is their major food source & source of wealth, symbolically linked with copper & with abalones. The visual image taken as 'Hawk' can be taken, on the basis of its actual visual characteristics, as that of a salmon. The total system of concepts clustering around it includes images of wealth, supernatural power, & reincarnation. Reincarnation is linked with cannibalism, & the salmon is seen as devouring itself, & as giving itself for human consumption & thus being a source of wealth. The image thus makes thinkable the transformation of life & wealth into poverty & death.
NEBELKOPF, ETHAN
Herbs and substance abuse treatment: A 10-year perspective. Special Issue: Pharmacological adjuncts and nutritional supplements in the treatment of drug dependence.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs; 1988 Jul-Sep Vol 20(3) 349-354
Explores the history of herbalism and its relationship to substance abuse treatment. The author describes the use of herbs in several treatment modalities, including free clinics, methadone programs, therapeutic communities, and hospitals. It is suggested that herbal therapy is best suited to self-help forms of drug abuse treatment.
REID, SUSAN
The Kwakiutl Man Eater
Anthropologica; 1979, 21, 2, 247-275.
The comparative analysis method is used to supplement R. Ridington's analysis of Beaver cannibalism. The comparison relied upon is from Kwakiutl sources. Mythological animals who engage in man-eating, as described in Kawkiutl traditions are considered. The cultural factor which, among both the Beaver & the Kwakiutl, encourages cannibalistic behavior & helps them to avoid psychosis is their treatment of social space. Both peoples believe that an adult must have some distance from society, which he expresses in symbolic behavior. That behavior includes imitating animal spirits that have given him power; the scope which the culture gives to this imitation includes cannibalistic behavior. HA Tr & Modified by S. Karganovic
SHAPIRO DH JR
A sense of control, health, and illness: exploring the mind-body relationship and the socio-cultural/spiritual context: reflections on Bali.
Int J Psychosom. 1990; 37(1-4): 40-9
Research has shown that there is a much more intimate and complex relationship between the 'mind' and 'body' than heretofore acknowledged within the predominant Western scientific paradigm; and that a 'sense of control' may be one of the more important variables mediating that relationship. Furthermore, even when this 'mind-body' relationship is studied, it is often done so in a reductionist way--at a psychophysiological level within the individual, thereby ignoring the socio-cultural context within which it is embedded. To address these issues, this article examines the mind-body relationship within the socio-cultural/spiritual context of Bali. Specifically examined are: (1) the culture's underlying assumptions about the mind-body-spirit connection across developmental and life cycle issues (including physical illness, and death); (2) the importance of maintaining a sense of control, harmony, and balance, within oneself, one's community, and the cosmos; and (3) the implications of those views for a control-based model of positive health. The article concludes with: (1) a discussion of why control seems to be such an important 'construct' in human evolution; (2) an examination of the costs and benefits of different methods of maintaining a sense of control and orientation; and (3) and a call for efforts toward a unifying theory of human control.
SURYANI LK; ADNYANA TA; JENSEN GD
Palm wine drinking in a Balinese village: environmental influences.
Int J Addict. 1990 Aug; 25(8): 911-20
The present study reports observations of drinking patterns and life-style of Bali-Hindu men in a Balinese village, Pemuteran, who have a relatively high prevalence (about 40%) of excessive consumption of locally produced palm wine. Patterns of drinking were defined. They are rooted in the customs of the inhabitants prior to mass displacement to a 'new' land area following a volcanic catastrophe in their old village location in 1963. Excessive drinking appeared to be causally related to identified sociocultural factors and to a physically impoverished environment that greatly reduced work opportunities during much of this year. A similar village in the area which underwent important social and drinking pattern changes consequent to government provision of irrigation water and greater work opportunities suggests that alcohol drinking in Pemuteran may decline under similar social-environmental changes.
TSENG WS; ASAI M; LIU JQ; WIBULSWASDI P; SURYANI LK; WEN JK; BRENNAN J; HEIBY E
Multi-cultural study of minor psychiatric disorders in Asia: symptom manifestations.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 1990 Winter; 36(4): 252-64
Patients with minor psychiatric disorders, including neuroses, situational adjustment reaction or acute emotional reaction, were investigated using symptom questionnaires at five research sites in Asia including: Chiang-Mai, Thailand; Bali, Indonesia; Kao-Hsiung, Taiwan, China; Shanghai, China; and Tokyo, Japan. The results revealed that the symptom profiles differ significantly among groups of different settings indicating that sociocultural background does contribute to the manifestation of neurotic symptomatology. It was also found that numerous and various subtypes of somatic scales were identified through factor analysis of symptoms for these Asian populations. It demonstrates that the spectrum of neurotic symptoms has a different focus for subjects in different sociocultural settings.
TURNER, D H
Windigo Mythology and the Analysis of Cree Social Structure
Anthropologica; 1977, 19, 1, 63-73.
When studied from a structuralist standpoint, certain Cree 'cannibalistic' myths reveal aspects of traditional social organization. Analysis here is based on data collected recently among the Cree of northern Manitoba. Analysis of the myths appears to be a breakthrough in unlocking the Cree mythological code & illustrates that the Cree system functions by way of incorporation. It has been formed by the tension among potentially autonomous groups on increasingly higher organizational levels. In the Windigo myth, which is analyzed here, cannibalism symbolizes the the incorporation into a social grouping & the various acts & relations described in the story mediate opposed tendencies toward autonomy at the domestic, brotherhood, & band levels. The myth here describes how Windigo's son killed & ate his wife. Content analysis illustrates that the Windigo syndrome is not explicable in terms of sociobiological & psychological paradigms. Rather, it seems that the myth functions to 'define the concept of human personness for the Northeast Algonkians.' There is a dominant Cree concern with questions of social, economic, & environmental extremes (eg, pulls toward & away from the domestic group; summer storm & winter freeze). The myths are 'experimental' reflections on those social relationships. HA Tr & Modified by S. Karganovic