INTRACULTURAL DIVERSITY AND THE SOCIOCULTURAL CORRELATES OF BLOOD-PRESSURE - A JAMAICAN EXAMPLE

Attention to intracultural diversity in anthropological research has i ncreased, but the implications of that diversity for research design a nd data analysis in medical anthropology have not proceeded as far. An examination of diversity and its use in guiding data analyses is give n here, based on the study of blood pressure and its social and psycho logical correlates. It is argued that in the specific ethnographic set ting of a small West Indian town, social class structures the diversit y of the meanings of beliefs and behaviors. Diversity of meanings, in turn, alters the associations of those beliefs and behaviors with bloo d pressure. Data analyses guided by this orientation demonstrate that the social patterning of blood pressure varies between and within soci al class. Specifically, it is shown that one model of social and psych ological influences on blood pressure applies only to middle-class per sons in a small Jamaican community and not to lower-class persons. Med ical anthropologists need to be more sensitive to the range of intracu ltural diversity and to how that diversity can influence the results o f research.