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New York: The Free Press, 1968. 207 pages, $6.95.
DR. KIEV HAS previously studied the impact of cultural factors on mental illness and treatment methods in several pre-scientific non-Western cultures. These works pointed out transcultural similarities in therapeutic procedures while other aspects of treatment and psychopathology were found to be unique to the culture. The present work, concerned exclusively with the Mexican-Americans, focuses on the complex interplay between basic beliefs and values, child-rearing practices, the patterning of emotional disorders, and the therapeutic strategies of Curanderismo.
The first few chapters are devoted to defining the cultural ideology of Mexican-Americans and of their healers—the curanderos. Points of friction between Mexican and American value-systems are considered to be major sources of emotional disorders. Mexican values stress "a high regard for authority, adherence to tradition, a philosophy of acceptance and resignation, and a religious orientation." These beliefs seriously conflict with American ideals, in particular with the Protestant ethic, the emphasis on initiative, aggressiveness in handling one's affairs, preoccupation with self-improvement