The first approach used when discussing Generalized Anxiety Disorder is the biological/ecological. The ecological approach studies the relationship between culture and the environment; how beliefs and practices among populations helped them to adapt to their environment. The ecological approach includes factors such as politics and socioeconomic status. The biological approach not the other hand studies the human body, the scientific facts of life, and how they affect an illness by taking a closer look at factors such as evolution, genetics, or race. It extremely important to consider both the biological and ecological components when studying an illness such as Generalized Anxiety disorder.
Anthropologists could study GAD using the biological/ecological approach by taking looking at different populations and their relationships to the environment in order to understand the presence of the illness. In order to study health from this environmental context there is a standard process as mentioned in an article by McElroy, "The gold standard process for studies of health in an environmental context included the collection of field date, from a wide sample of households and communities, archival research on historic change, and ethnographic interviews to assess health behaviors and beliefs." This was done so in Taz Karims lecture 2.1 with the example of the Pima people. It was discovered that the Pima people had a higher tendency (38%) of getting diabetes. Using the biological and ecological approach anthropologists saw that because of the need to adapt to their environment to survive the biological processes of natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow took place, better suiting the Pima people to their environment. But as time went on and the environment changed once again this trait was no longer favorable and the Pima people were put into a position where they were at a higher prevalence rate for type II diabetes. Above is an image from a cross-ethnic comparison of lifetime prevalence rates of anxiety disorders among different racial groups with different demographics. This is a perfect example of how ones environment affects the onset of an illness such as GAD. The racial groups with a lower socioeconomic status as indicated by their household income in general experienced a higher prevalence of anxiety disorders.
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Socioeconomic status is not the only environmental factors that can affect GAD.
In one case study of James,
age 31, suffering from generalized anxiety disorder it is thought that
environmental factors such as the family pressures from the success of his
parents and sister contribute to his disorder. Family pressures are another example of an environmental factor that can influence an illness such as
anxiety (Geoffry).
For one to grasp a better understanding of how environmental factors such as work, school and personal relationships affect someone suffering from Generalized Anxiety disorder, watch the youtube clip above. The clip is a personal testimony of Celia Edell's. In the video it is mentioned how she gets extreme anxiety over exams. This is indeed influenced by Western culture, where grades and test exams are used to determine one's intelligence creating this stressor that one has to do well on an exam in order to be deemed successful. In other cultures where exams are not held to such high value there is not stress. Perfect example of how culture affects the environment and the environment then affects not only the people but illnesses as well.
In conclusion, it is imperative that clinicians and other medical professional consider the biological, ecological, AND cultural factors when studying a particular illness. Without careful consideration of these factors medical professional's could spin their wheels searching for a cause of a particular disease when the answer it truly right in front of them Medical anthropology studies these connections and can hopefully one day help medical professionals brainstorm cures and solutions for the worlds daunting health problems such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. |
Bibliography
Asnaani, Anu, and Anthony Richey. "A Cross-Ethnic Comparison of Lifetime Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders of." NIH Public Access (August 2010). Accessed August 9, 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2931265/.
Celia Edell. "Anxiety disorders: in general, in school/work/relationships & more." YouTube Access (October 2012). Accessed August 9, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFoM_kmUJYc
Celia Edell. "Anxiety disorders: in general, in school/work/relationships & more." YouTube Access (October 2012). Accessed August 9, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFoM_kmUJYc