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Mass hysteria revisited.
Sivasankaran Balaratnasingam1, Aleksandar Janca
1Northwest Mental Health Service, Nickol Bay Hospital, Karratha, Australia.
Current Opinion in Psychiatry
|April 14, 2006
Summary
Mass psychogenic illness, or mass hysteria, is a growing concern due to modern threats. Effective management requires a collaborative, holistic approach involving public sectors to prevent future outbreaks.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Mass psychogenic response (MPR) has historical precedents but poses a heightened risk today due to terrorism and biological warfare threats.
- Societal vulnerability to epidemics of MPR is expected to increase in the current climate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of mass psychogenic response.
- To examine its conceptualization, diagnosis, and management strategies.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing studies on mass psychogenic response.
- Analysis of terminology, diagnostic challenges, and management approaches.
Main Results:
- Terminology for mass hysteria is evolving (e.g., mass psychogenic illness, mass sociogenic illness).
- Research on personality predispositions is inconclusive; cognitive models show promise for individual adaptation.
- Government, medical, and media actions are crucial for managing MPR.
Conclusions:
- Diagnosis and perpetuation mechanisms of mass hysteria remain unclear.
- Increased societal threat perception may lead to higher MPR incidence, impacting health services.
- A collaborative, multi-sectoral preventive strategy is essential for future MPR containment.