Small G W, Propper M W, Randolph E T, Eth S
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine.
Am J Psychiatry. 1991 Sep;148(9):1200-5. doi: 10.1176/ajp.148.9.1200.
In April 1989 an outbreak of illness suddenly afflicted student performers in Santa Monica, Calif., and an extensive investigation revealed no environmental cause. To clarify the details of the epidemic and determine whether mass hysteria occurred, the authors examined physical, psychological, and social factors that might have contributed to the outbreak.
Participating middle- and high-school performers were surveyed; 93% (N = 519) responded; cases were defined as students who had one or more symptoms during the outbreak. A stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to determine significant predictors of illness.
Characteristic features of mass hysteria were present, including preponderance of illness in girls, symptom transmission by sight or sound, presence of hyperventilation, and evidence of psychological or physical stress. Symptomatic and asymptomatic groups differed in frequency of several physical and psychological variables, but observing a friend become sick was the best predictor of the development of symptoms.
These results confirm earlier research demonstrating multiple psychological and physical factors that contribute to such outbreaks, particularly symptom transmission through social networks. Investigators should explore social transmission as an additional characteristic feature of mass hysteria in order to facilitate early identification of future outbreaks.
1989年4月，加利福尼亚州圣莫尼卡的学生表演者突然患病，广泛调查未发现环境病因。为阐明此次疫情细节并确定是否发生群体癔症，作者研究了可能导致此次疫情爆发的生理、心理和社会因素。
对参与演出的初中和高中表演者进行调查；93%（N = 519）作出回应；病例定义为在疫情期间出现一种或多种症状的学生。采用逐步逻辑回归分析确定疾病的显著预测因素。
存在群体癔症的特征，包括女孩患病居多、症状通过视觉或听觉传播、存在换气过度以及心理或生理压力的证据。有症状组和无症状组在几个生理和心理变量的频率上存在差异，但目睹朋友生病是症状出现的最佳预测因素。
这些结果证实了早期研究，表明多种心理和生理因素导致此类疫情爆发，尤其是通过社交网络传播症状。调查人员应将社会传播作为群体癔症的一个额外特征进行探索，以便于早期识别未来的疫情爆发。
