Paradise Lost?

Measuring the social, psychological and physiological effects of rapid modernisation in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea

The human stress reaction is critical to life, but in excess has the ability to inflict major damage. Previous
studies have identified high levels of stress hormones and stress related diseases in western populations, but questions remain as to whether this is true for developing countries. To gain insight into the range, costs, and limits of human adaptation, environmental and social stresses encountered by humans in Papua New Guinea are examined using multi-faceted approach, which envelopes evolutionary anthropology, endocrinology, ethnography and psychology.

Djuke Veldhuis, Postdoc, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark