Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:455-459
Copyright © 1981 by American Psychiatric Association
Mastering change: epidemiological and case studies in Senegal, West Africa
M Beiser and H Collomb
While it has often been assumed that persons exposed to rapid social change
incur a risk to their mental health, research results have been
inconsistent. The authors found that 269 urban migrants in Senegal, West
Africa, did not demonstrate worse mental health than did 300 rural
nonmigrants. Case studies suggest that outcome is determined not by change
per se but by social contingencies which modify the situations, as well as
by personal assets which individuals bring with them. Critical factors
include the persistence of familiar cultural forms within the new
environment and skills such as literacy and the ability to creatively
integrate elements of the old and new cultures.
