Kliger R
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Cult Med Psychiatry. 1994 Jun;18(2):215-45. doi: 10.1007/BF01379450.
The aim of this ethnographic work is twofold: first, to document the specifics of the illness experience within the highly controlling milieu of a religious cult; second, to explore the connection between somatization and social control in this particular context. Anthropologists have long realized that in order to comprehend disease etiology, one must examine both biological and sociocultural processes, as both are implicated in the production of illness. Illness experiences of those members of the cult described here appeared to be direct responses to extreme intrapsychic and social control: that is, members were required to be celibate, unmarried, and detached from their pre-cult identity and the emotional support structure of family and friends. Additionally, members were subjected to constant surveillance by peers and were often punished for expressing views that were in conflict with the ideology of the leader, thereby encouraging the somatization of distress. This research is based upon two years of participant observation within the milieu, during which time more than 100 participants were interviewed; however, this paper specifically discusses in-depth interviews with eight individuals whose health problems exemplify those experienced by other members of the cult.
其一，记录在一个宗教邪教高度控制的环境中疾病体验的具体情况；其二，探索在这一特定背景下躯体化与社会控制之间的联系。人类学家早就认识到，为了理解疾病的病因，必须同时考察生物和社会文化过程，因为这两者都与疾病的产生有关。这里所描述的邪教成员的疾病体验似乎是对极端的内心和社会控制的直接反应：也就是说，成员们被要求独身、未婚，并与加入邪教前的身份以及家人和朋友的情感支持结构脱离。此外，成员们受到同伴的持续监视，并且常常因表达与领袖意识形态相冲突的观点而受到惩罚，从而促使痛苦转化为躯体症状。这项研究基于在该环境中进行的两年参与观察，在此期间采访了100多名参与者；然而，本文特别讨论了对八个人的深入访谈，他们的健康问题代表了邪教其他成员所经历的情况。
