Community psychology in Cuba: A literature review

Abstract

The literature in community psychology published between 1976 and 1982 in the Journal of the Psychiatric Hospital of Habana and limited other sources was reviewed. The review indicated that much research in community psychology is being carried out in Cuba. The review covers social issues such as drug and alcohol use, aging, education, traffic problems, adolescence, and juvenile delinquency. In the health area, the extensive work published on psychosocial factors in disease, and the physician-patient relationship is reviewed, as well as some work on health services evaluation. In the mental health area, researchers have explored psychosocial aspects of mental illness and emphasized therapeutic communities and psychoballet. Research in community psychology focused more on problems than solutions, although this is less true of the mental health area than that of social issues.