The Phenomena of Mass Hysteria and Conversion Disorder—the LeRoy High School Case

Throughout the ages, mass hysteria has been a phenomenon that fascinates, baffles, and stumps even the most astute psychologists and psychiatrists. Although you'll not find mass hysteria as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Volume IV, Text Revision (DSM-IV TR), a few rare conditions that could be connected to mass hysteria are listed. One such illness, termed, "Conversion Disorder" involves the development of sensory or motor symptoms that cannot be explained by physical/medical causes.

Mass hysteria occurs when a group of people develop unusual symptoms that cannot be scientifically linked to physical causes. Occasionally you might read about an episode of some strange symptom or affliction that people living in a specific geographical area are exhibiting. Conversion disorder, however, is diagnosed in just one individual at a time.

Most recently, 12 female students at the LeRoy Junior-Senior High School in LeRoy, New York developed tic-like symptoms that could not be traced to any physical causes, environmental conditions in the school building, or medications/drugs the students were using (NY Department of Health's Greg Young, as reported at the New York Daily News website). The LeRoy case fascinates because of the mysterious origin of the symptoms.

Symptoms including tics like throat-clearing, coughing, stuttering, and guttural sounds were exhibited by some of the LeRoy students, as shown on the ABC Evening News with Diane Sawyer. It took one week for experts to rule out possible causes of the symptoms and arrive at the conclusion the symptoms were likely due to mass hysteria.

Readers should not confuse the LeRoy students' symptoms with the disorder called, "Malingering"-faking an illness or various signs and symptoms of a disease. There is no similarity whatsoever between someone who's malingering and someone who suffers from mass hysteria or conversion disorder.

Those who malinger have a goal to fool others for specific reasons. Plus, in the LeRoy case, medical and psychological personnel who examined the students would have ruled out malingering before naming the behaviors as "mass hysteria." Of note is the news that the parents of the afflicted students are perplexed and unsure that mass hysteria fully explains the symptoms.

Facts about LeRoy, New York

The LeRoy Junior Senior High School website reports attendance of 460 students in the high school grades 9-12. The Village of LeRoy website lists the town's claim to fame as the "birthplace of Jell-O." The US Census 2000 reports 4,462 people live in LeRoy, a small, likely rural setting.

DSM-IV TR Facts about Conversion Disorder

The DSM-IV reports that women are much more likely to display conversion disorder. Also, people who develop conversion disorders tend to reside in rural settings, be of lower socioeconomic status, and often lack medical and psychological knowledge. To earn the diagnosis, one must experience enough stress from his/her symptoms to negatively impact social relationships and/or work or school functioning.

The LeRoy Students' Mystery Illness-Mass Hysteria or Conversion Disorder?

The good news is, regardless of whether the recent outbreak of tic-like symptoms in LeRoy, New York is mass hysteria or a group conversion disorder experience, the prognosis for complete remission of these symptoms is likely. Conversion disorder symptoms usually remit within 2 weeks of the symptoms' development while mass hysteria symptoms have disappeared anywhere from 24 hours to 18 months from the date symptoms first appeared.

Sources

ABC Evening News with Diane Sawyer

LeRoy Junior Senior High School website

New York Daily News website

Professional experience

US Census 2000 website

Village of LeRoy, NY website