An epidemiological approach is described in detail giving main emphasis to the functional state of a whole environmental system. Criteria were established by which communities were judged in terms of their socio-cultural integration. A high correlation between the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and extremes of disintegration was found. By inducing in one community — the Road — patterns of social functioning including group action and local leadership, changes in the situation and attitudes of the people were promoted. On a re-survey after one decade the prevalence of psychiatric disorders turned out to be much lower than the initial survey.
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