This study conducted among the Quichuas of Otavalo (Ecuador) explores the concept of llaqui (depressive experiences) and investigates the Western psychiatric and medical diagnoses of 50 patients suffering from this Quichua illness category. It was found that in the Quichua theory, illness is primarily attributed to nature spirits or malignant spirits under human control and modulated by the experience of intense emotions like fear, anger, and sadness. Clinical evaluation (including Zung's depression scale) indicates that patients labelled llaqui are suffering from mental disorders and physical diseases. Eighty-two percent of patients made the DSM III-R criteria for depressive disorders; 44% for somatoform disorders; and 40% for anxiety disorders. Some 80% of them were also suffering from infectious and parasitic diseases. It is important for health practitioners working with this population to become familiar with this illness belief system and to known the relationship between llaqui and mental disorders, because it should improve the quality of medical care.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.56755 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Maldonado, Mario G. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Psychiatry.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001318484, proquestno: AAIMM80473, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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