Psychosomatic Medicine 23:156-165 (1961)
© 1961 American Psychosomatic Society

Observations on the Health of Adolescent Girls in Relation to Cultural Change

¹ Department of Social, Preventive and Family Medicine, University of Natal and Institute of Family and Community Health, Durban, South Africa

A study was made of the health implications of intergenerational culture conflict within the family, by seeking evidence of a relationship between the health of a group of Indian adolescent girls in Durban and their and their mothers' traditionalism. Assessments of health were based on responses to the Cornell Medical Index and appraisals of traditionalism regarding the role of girls or women, and the reciprocal role of others.

Evidence of ill health, with special reference to emotional disturbance, was found to be associated with a discrepancy, in either direction, between the traditionalism of the daughter and that of her mother. Where the mother was traditional compared with other mothers, there was more evidence of ill health among girls who were relatively modern than among those who were relatively traditional. Conversely, where the mother was relatively modern, there was more evidence of ill health among traditional girls, or among girls who were considerably more modern than their mothers. There was evidence that ill health was associated, also, with a disharmony between role prescriptions and the actual role enactment in the home.

While these findings are not necessarily directly applicable to other communities, they are considered to have important implications for any community, both for the clinician and for the practitioner of public health.