Am J Psychiatry. 1977 Aug; 134(8): 917-9.

Community psychiatry in Tutuila, American Samoa.

Walters WE.

The author hypothesizes that the underreporting of mental illness in Tutuila, American Samoa, is a direct result of the social system, which provides a means of "curing" emotional disorder by family group process and shamanistic ritual, by making the disorder less disruptive, and by absolving the affected individual of personal guilt.