ASSESSING PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER AMONG THE SERER OF SENEGAL

Abstract

Thirty-two Serer natives identified according to local cultural standards as having “Illnesses of the Spirit” were examined on two occasions. On one occasion, the instrument used was a psychiatric interview, and on the other it was a structured psychiatric questionnaire. The data gathered by each method were evaluated according to a standardized technique for categorizing psychiatric disorder, which is in turn based on Western psychiatric concepts. Two questions are asked of this exercise: 1) Is it possible to develop a standardized instrument for gathering data about psychiatric illness in a “primitive” culture? 2) When the Serer speak of “Illness of the Spirit” and psychiatrists speak about psychiatric disorder, are they thinking of roughly the same kinds of things? On the basis of findings of this study, the tentative answer to both questions is,“Yes.”