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Case studies of brain fag syndrome in South Africa

Against the background of culture bound syndromes and the universalism/relativism debate, this research set out to investigate the diagnosis of brain fag syndrome by examining case studies in a South African context. Diagnostic criteria were identified by way of an analysis of the symptoms reported by a convenience sample of 20 black students experiencing problems related to study. In-depth case studies were conducted with three of the participants from the sample who most thoroughly met the criteria for brain fag syndrome. In a comparison between the brain fag diagnoses and the DSM-IV diagnoses, it was established that while the DSM-IV was not without merit in a cross cultural context, cultural differences were found which suggested the usefulness of the brain fag syndrome diagnosis. A speculative statement on the universalism/relativism debate was proposed based on the principle of complementarity derived from Quantum physics.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:2977
Date January 2001
CreatorsFinnemore, Gerard le Cornu
PublisherRhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Psychology
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Masters, MA
Format158 pages, pdf
RightsFinnemore, Gerard le Cornu

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