Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica
The question of whether the concept of adaptation remains useful in medical anthropology is examined in the context of the human experience in Antarctica. This experience is characterized by prolonged isolation, confinement, and exposure to extreme environmental conditions. Men and women who winter-...
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:eee:socmed:v:35:y:1992:i:5:p:651-664 2024-04-14T08:04:06+00:00 Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica Palinkas, Lawrence A. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(92)90004-A unknown http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(92)90004-A article ftrepec 2024-03-19T10:29:26Z The question of whether the concept of adaptation remains useful in medical anthropology is examined in the context of the human experience in Antarctica. This experience is characterized by prolonged isolation, confinement, and exposure to extreme environmental conditions. Men and women who winter-over at scientific research stations often exhibit a complex of psychophysiological symptoms in response to these stressors. However, this experience also appears to provide long-term health benefits. It is argued that the psychological symptoms are themselves part of the process of coping and do not necessarily represent an inability to adapt to the extreme environment. Coping is viewed as a process of negotiation leading to a compromise between individual and group needs. The cultural systems of Antarctic research stations are both a product of this negotiation and a set of normative and pragmatic rules regulating this process. Further, this process fosters the acquisition of new strategies or resources for coping with subsequent stressful experiences. stress coping adaptation Antarctica Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Antarctic |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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The question of whether the concept of adaptation remains useful in medical anthropology is examined in the context of the human experience in Antarctica. This experience is characterized by prolonged isolation, confinement, and exposure to extreme environmental conditions. Men and women who winter-over at scientific research stations often exhibit a complex of psychophysiological symptoms in response to these stressors. However, this experience also appears to provide long-term health benefits. It is argued that the psychological symptoms are themselves part of the process of coping and do not necessarily represent an inability to adapt to the extreme environment. Coping is viewed as a process of negotiation leading to a compromise between individual and group needs. The cultural systems of Antarctic research stations are both a product of this negotiation and a set of normative and pragmatic rules regulating this process. Further, this process fosters the acquisition of new strategies or resources for coping with subsequent stressful experiences. stress coping adaptation Antarctica |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Palinkas, Lawrence A. |
spellingShingle |
Palinkas, Lawrence A. Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica |
author_facet |
Palinkas, Lawrence A. |
author_sort |
Palinkas, Lawrence A. |
title |
Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica |
title_short |
Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica |
title_full |
Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Going to extremes: The cultural context of stress, illness and coping in Antarctica |
title_sort |
going to extremes: the cultural context of stress, illness and coping in antarctica |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(92)90004-A |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(92)90004-A |
_version_ |
1796300482280423424 |