Mental Health Problems in Culturally Changing Adivasi Communities

Adivasi communities represent a section of the Indian society, which suffers from many disadvantages, including social exclusion. Changes in the lives of Adivasi people taking place through development programmes have not succeeded in their integration with the mainstream society. In this paper we examine mental health problems of Adivasi people with reference to a series of studies carried out with groups whose economic activities range from hunting-gathering through agriculture to wage employment, and who experience different degrees of acculturation. Studies generally indicate that Adivasi people show strong attitude towards ‘integration’ with the mainstream society, but there are also individuals and groups who display some degrees of ‘marginalisation’. A relatively complex relationship of mental health with acculturation experiences of groups is brought out due to the interplay of a set of factors, which moderate this relationship. It is argued that the life of Adivasi people can be less stressful and relatively free from mental health problem if development programmes can facilitate their integration with and participation in the cultural life of other groups.