<i>Nervios</i>and dysphoria in Mexican American widows

Abstract

One hundred widows participating in experimental research entitled Efficacy of Support Groups for Mexican American Widows were studied to learn how they express the loss of their husbands. Mourning practices, acknowledged symptoms of dysphoria, and somatic reactions were studied to learn if the syndrome of nervios subsumes their reaction to bereavement. In addition, their responses to instruments designed to measure depression, the Spanish version of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, were examined for correlation with nervios and relationships to Mexican American acculturation. Nervios seems to be a manifestation of dysphoria rather than a specific syndrome for these women.