Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:46:52.364Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is Hysteria on the Wane?

A Community Survey in West Bengal, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

D. N. Nandi ,
Gauranga Banerjee ,
Sabyasachi Nandi  and
Parthasarathi Nandi
D. N. Nandi*
Affiliation:
Girindrasekhar Clinic, Calcutta
Gauranga Banerjee
Affiliation:
NRS Medical College, Calcutta
Sabyasachi Nandi
Affiliation:
Girindrasekhar Clinic, Calcutta
Parthasarathi Nandi
Affiliation:
Girindrasekhar Clinic, Calcutta
*
∗P-535, Raja Basanta Roy Road, Calcutta-700 029, India
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A field survey was conducted in two villages – Gambhirgachi and Paharpur – in 1972. The survey was repeated after 10 years in the former village and after 15 years in the latter one. The second survey showed very little change in the rate of total mental morbidity. The rate of prevalence of hysteria declined significantly in both villages. In Gambhirgachi the rate of hysteria dropped from 16.9 to 4.6 per 1000 in 10 years, and in Paharpur it dropped from 32.3 to 2.05 per 1000 in 15 years.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 87 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banerjee, T., Mukherjee, S. P., Nandi, D. N., et al (1986) Psychiatric morbidity in an urbanized tribal (Santal) community: a field-study. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 28, 243–248.Google Scholar
Bhide, A. (1982) Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in a closed community in South India. MD Thesis. Bangalore: Bangalore University.Google Scholar
Dube, K. C. (1970) A study of prevalence and bio-social variables in mental illness in rural and urban community in Uttar Pradesh, India. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 46, 327–359.Google Scholar
Gruenberg, E. M. & Turns, D. M. (1976) Epidemiology. In Comprehensive Text Book of Psychiatry/II, vol. I (eds Freedman, A. M., Kaplan, H. I. & Sadock, B. J.), pp. 398–413. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins.Google Scholar
Hagnell, O. (1966) A Prospective Study of the Incidence of Mental Disorder. Lund: Svenska Bokforlaget Norstedts.Google Scholar
Isaac, M. & Kapur, R. L. (1980) A cost-effective analysis of three different methods of psychiatric case finding in the general population. British Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 540–546.Google Scholar
Leighton, D., Harding, J. S., Macklin, D. G., et al (1963) Psychiatric findings of the Stirling County Study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 119, 1021–1026.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Ajmany, S., Ganguli, H., et al (1975) Psychiatric disorders in a rural community in West Bengal – an epidemiological study. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 17, 87–89.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Ajmany, S., Ganguli, H., et al (1976) Incidence of mental disorders in one year in rural community in West Bengal. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 18, 79–87.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Mukherjee, S. P., Boral, G. C., et al (1977) Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in two tribal communities in certain villages of West Bengal – a cross-cultural study. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 19, 2–12.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Banerjee, G., Ganguli, H., et al (1978) The natural history of mental disorders in a rural community – a longitudinal field-survey. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 21, 390–396.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Mukherjee, S. P., Boral, G. C., et al (1980a) Socioeconomic status and mental morbidity in certain tribes and castes in India – a cross-cultural study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 73–85.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Das, N. N., Chaudhuri, A., et al (1980b) Mental morbidity and urban life – an epidemiological study. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 22, 324–350.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Banerjee, G., Bera, S., et al (1985) Contagious hysteria in a West Bengal village. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 39, 247–252.Google Scholar
Nandi, D. N., Banerjee, G., Mukherjee, S. P., et al (1986) A study of psychiatric morbidity of a rural community at an interval of ten years. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 28, 179–194.Google Scholar
Pareek, U. & Trivedi, G. (1966) Manual of the Socio-economic Status Scale (Rural). Delhi: Manasayan.Google Scholar
Sethi, B. B., Gupta, S. C. & Kumar, B. (1967) 300 urban families – a psychiatric study. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 9, 280–302.Google Scholar
Singh, G. (1979) Depression in India – a cross-cultural perspective. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 21, 235–239.Google Scholar
Venkoba Rao, A. (1984) Depressive illness in India. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 26, 301–311.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1960) Technical Report Series No. 185. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.