<i>susto</i> revisited: illness as strategic role

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that susto is a response to some kinds of social situations. Now it is possible to consider what susto offers as a strategic role. First, adult susto is distinguished from the disease suffered by children, because although children play the role, they do not name it: adults diagnose the illness in children and give it meaning. Concluding a discussion of the strategic advantages and disadvantages of both adult and childhood susto , it is proposed that we eventually must attend how the role evolves from personal fiction into reality.