Industrial mass psychogenic illness: The unfashionable diagnosis

Two previously unpublished outbreaks of Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI) in I taly are reported. The first outbreak involved 427 female workers at an ele ctro-mechanical plant. Workers complained of work-related stressors, and hi gh levels of conflict: between their job and home duties. We conclude that the episode resulted from the interaction of environmental and work-related factors, the persons and the social organization of the workplace. The sec ond case is one in which risk of MPI developing seems to have been successf ully prevented. An effective stress coping strategy, coupled with workplace improvement, may have succeeded in eliminating cases of illness and preven ting an outbreak of MPI.