This paper explores the public perceptions of genetically modified foods in Colombia in a phase considered germinal: the topic was too novel at the time of research. The analysis covers media, informal conversations, and the word associations made by a sample of residents in the city of Bogotá. The results show that the public capability of associating with the topic, even intuitively, is due to the availability of culture themes, the primary categories that help conceptual elaborations, and the construction of common-sense theories. Three themes are proposed: natural/artificial, tradition/change, and health/disease. It is argued that cultural themes are not only cognitive, but also affectively laden entities, which explains the evaluative force expressed by social beliefs. Acknowledging the relevance of the non-attitude thesis, the author suggests that people associate novel objects with latent cultural meanings, explaining why words, images, and metaphors are readily available in elaborating social knowledge.
RESUMENEste artículo presenta la relevancia del concepto de anomia para estudiar problemas de salud mental pública y desde allí proponer estrategias de promoción y prevención. El estudio de la anomia se caracteriza por la multiplicidad de definiciones y enfoques; se propone conceptualizarla como dérrèglement o perturbación y asumirla como un Hecho Social Total en el sentido de que, a pesar de ser una característica de la estructura social, sus efectos ocupan todos los ámbitos de la existencia. Con base en descripciones hechas por varios autores que califican a las sociedades latinoamericanas de anómicas y a Colombia como caso extremo, el artículo plantea la pertinencia del concepto. La definición de salud mental en términos positivos y no como la ausencia de trastorno, confirma la necesidad de considerar a la anomia como un indicador de salud mental pública. Finalmente se propone que si la anomia se expresa a través de reglas, que son componentes básicos de la estructura social, las reglas también deberían ser punto de consideración para la intervención.Palabras Claves: Anomia, salud mental, Colombia, América Latina (fuente: DeCS, BIREME).
ABSTRACTThis article uses the concept of anomie for understanding public mental-health issues and constructing strategies aimed at promoting health and preventing disease. Studying anomie involves many definitions and approaches; this article conceptualises anomie as dérrèglement or derangement and as a total social fact as its effects and consequences are pervasive across all areas of human experience. The article suggests the pertinence of the concept to public health based on several authors' observations depicting Latin-America as being a set of anomic societies and Colombia as the extreme case. Current definitions of mental health in positive terms (not just as being the absence of mental illness) validate the need for considering anomie as an indicator of public mental health. The article proposes that if anomie expresses itself through rules as basic social structure components, then such rules should also be considered as the point of intervention in promoting mental health.
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