Social Change and Mental Health

Abstract

Since the Enlightenment it has been repeatedly claimed that rapid social change was productive of mental disorders. The evidence advanced in support of this thesis is separated into 2 concepts: (1) Change as a specific factor in the production of certain cases of mental disorder. (-2) Change that is disturbing to everyone but which produces a clinical form of the illness only in presently or potentially sick persons. This extensive review of the very large literature on migrating populations and populations undergoing social change now permits one to ask many different and more precise questions. Dr. Murphy concludes that non-Western peoples undergoing Westernization show an increase in identified psychopathology. However, whether this is due to an increase in prevalence or to improved facilities or other factors is not clear. The problems of investigating these questions are dealt with at some length.