The Role of the Nightmare in Hmong Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome: A folkloristic study of belief and health

TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables and Figure vii Acknowledgments viii Vita, Publications, and Presentations xi Abstract xiii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Review of Literature 6 Research Approach 48 Research Methods 51 Limitations of research 56 Research Ethics 59 Chapter Two: The Nightmare 62 A Historical and Cultural Sampling of the Nightmare 63 The Nightmare and Laboratory Sleep Research 70 Cultural Elaborations of the Nightmare Experience 73 The Hmong Nightmare: Dab Tsog 81 Chapter Three: The Nightmare in the Context of Traditional Hmong Culture 91 An Overview of Hmong History and Ethnography 91 Traditional Hmong Religion 101 Traditional Hmong Beliefs Regarding Health and Illness 106 Informants' Nightmare Experiences in a Traditional Context 113 Chapter Four: The Nightmare in the Context of Hmong Relocation 126 From Laos to the United States 126 Resettlement 130 Problems of Adaptation and Relocation 134 Informants' Nightmare Experiences in the United States 146 Chapter Five: The Nightmare and Hmong Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome 167 Psychophysiological Predisposition to Nightmare Attacks 169 Cataclysmic Psychological Stress as a Result of the Nightmare 172 Psychological Stress and Sudden Death 183 The Nightmare as Trigger for Hmong Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome 197 Chapter Six: Conclusion 210 Summary of Findings 210 Hmong Reactions to SUNDS Research 216 Directions for Future Research 220 Prospects for Preventing SUNDS Deaths 222 Implications for Research in Folk Belief and Folk Medicine 224 Notes 227 Bibliography 229