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Related Experiment Videos

Psychology and survival

D P Phillips1, T E Ruth, L M Wagner

  • 1Department of Sociology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla 92093.

Lancet (London, England)
|November 6, 1993
PubMed
Summary
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Chinese-Americans experience reduced lifespan when their birth year and diseases align with traditional Chinese beliefs about ill-fated combinations. This effect is linked to cultural adherence and psychosomatic factors, not solely behavioral changes.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Sociology
  • Psychosomatic Medicine
  • Cultural Anthropology

Background:

  • Cultural beliefs and traditions can influence health outcomes.
  • The impact of specific cultural astrological beliefs on mortality is not well-understood.
  • Psychosomatic processes may play a role in health disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between traditional Chinese beliefs and mortality risk in Chinese-Americans.
  • To determine if specific astrological and medical interpretations of birth year and disease combinations impact lifespan.
  • To explore the role of cultural adherence and psychosomatic factors in observed survival differences.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of mortality data for 28,169 adult Chinese-Americans and 412,632 matched white controls.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Statistical examination of lifespan differences based on combinations of disease and birth year considered ill-fated in Chinese culture.
  • Assessment of the correlation between cultural tradition attachment and years of life lost.

    • Main Results:

    • Chinese-Americans, unlike whites, exhibited significantly shorter lifespans (1.3-4.9 years) when their birth year and diseases were deemed ill-fated by Chinese astrology and medicine.
    • A stronger adherence to Chinese traditions correlated with greater reductions in lifespan.
    • These findings were consistent across most major causes of death studied.

    Conclusions:

    • Beliefs rooted in Chinese astrology and medicine appear to be associated with reduced survival among Chinese-Americans.
    • Psychosomatic processes likely contribute to the observed decrease in lifespan, beyond behavioral explanations.
    • Cultural factors and psychosomatic mechanisms warrant further investigation in understanding health disparities.