Transcultural Psychiatry
Volume 45, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 287-317

The ‘Multiplex Model’ of Somatic Symptoms: ApplicatioN to Tinnitus among Traumatized Cambodian Refugees (Article)

Hinton D.E.* , Hinton S.D. , Loeum R.J.R. , Pich V. , Pollack M.H.
  • a Harvard Medical School, United States
  • b Harvard Medical School, United States
  • c Arbour Counseling, Lowell, United States
  • d Arbour Counseling, Lowell, United States
  • e Harvard Medical School, United States

Abstract

Somatic symptoms are a common clinical presentation of distress among ethnic populations in the USA, particularly traumatized refugees. In this article, we apply a ‘multiplex model’ of bodily experience to explain how a somatic symptom is evoked, amplified, and generates distress, particularly distress related to post-traumatic stress disorder. We illustrate the multiplex model's applicability to acute episodes of tinnitus (i.e., a buzzing-like sound in the ear) among Cambodian refugees, a common symptom in that group. The article demonstrates the importance of carefully examining somatic symptoms and associated meanings in distressed ethnic populations, especially traumatized refugees, and aims to contribute to a medical anthropology of somatic symptoms. © 2008, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.

Author Keywords

tinnitus posttraumatic stress disorder Anxiety somatization Catastrophic cognitions Cambodian refugees

Index Keywords

anxiety cultural anthropology depression refugee Cambodia word recognition associative memory Semantics human Refugees tinnitus United States Humans environmental factor stress risk factor self concept symptom Article posttraumatic stress disorder distress syndrome Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic disease predisposition ethnicity statistical model disease association Fear Somatoform Disorders somatization
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-45349092812&doi=10.1177%2f1363461508089768&partnerID=40&md5=fb893a0cc774f3717886186fbfc02b2a
DOI: 10.1177/1363461508089768
ISSN: 13634615
Cited by: 17
Original Language: English