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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:2977 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Finnemore, Gerard le Cornu |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Psychology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | 158 pages, pdf |
| Rights | Finnemore, Gerard le Cornu |
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