The proposed research will become the basis of the applicant?s doctoral dissertation for the Ph.D. in anthropology. The dissertation will be an anthropological investigation of the social and cultural aspects of community mental health care, using a town in Northern Italy as an ethnographic case study. Italy was selected as the field of location because of its unique historical commitment to community mental health care and due to its value for comparison with the United States. The methodological perspective is that of cultural anthropology, and is based on the integration of qualitative and quantitative ethnographic research paradigms. The applicant will conduct a total of sixteen months of anthropological fieldwork to investigate the relationship between community-based mental health care, social stigma of mental illness, and the individual?s acceptance or denial of illness. The research will also address the roles of religion and the family in relation to decisions regarding mental health services. This research will lead to a broader understanding of how cultural and social factors are important variables within community mental health care settings and for public perceptions of mental illness.
