Problemas de nervos: a multivocal symbol of distress for Portuguese immigrants

This article outlines research on a previous unstudied form of suffering specific to the Portugese immigrant community: problemas de nervos. Thirty-two Portuguese immigrant women (in Waterloo, ON and Boston, MA) were interviewed and each completed a questionnaire. Cluster analysis demonstrated that problemas de nervos has many meanings. The study profiled symptoms, causes and therapies associated with four variations of this culture-specific form of distress: "mal da cabeca" meaning problems with/in the head (e.g., lack of control, visions); " aflição" meaning affliction (e.g., nervous attacks, heart problems); immigration stress (causing sleep disturbances); and, conflicts with others (resulting in pressure within the body). None of the symptom clusters reported matched criteria for a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis, suggesting that problemas de nervos represents an idiomatic rather than universal expression of distress.