Malay perspective
When Malays were asked why they thought that women were more likely to suffer from latah, they responded with the cultural explanation that women have less "semangat" or soul substance. They also said women are simply easier to tease than men, and coupling these two together, latah becomes more readily observable and developed throughout recurrent provocation in women than in men. This also accounts for the higher prevalence of latah in lower status persons, as they are more vulnerable to abuse than others. The Malay also believe women are more susceptible because they lose more blood than men, through menstruation. Some Malay believe that excess tickling of a child will predispose them to latah later in life. In the DSM
Latah was included in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV under the "Dissociative Disorder: Not Otherwise Specified" section as a culture–bound syndrome. DSM IV describes latah as a hypersensitivity to sudden fright, often with echopraxia, echolalia, command obedience, and dissociative or trancelike behavior. It mentions other cultures where latah is found, but the only further information the DSM-IV provides is that in Malaysia, it is more often found in middle–aged women. It has been removed from DSM-5, and rather than the DSM-5 expanding upon the DSM IVs list of culture–bound syndromes, it has instead provided cross-lists for more commonly known disorders that a culture-bound syndrome might be classified as.
DSM-5 has taken out the "culture–bound syndrome" language and replaced it with more "sensitive" language, and the glossary where the now shortened list of previously recognized culture–bound syndromes is titled "Other Specified" and "Unspecified" dissociative disorders. A more general discussion, involving the formation of a cultural identity, explanation, and assessment, has been added. In popular culture
William S. Burroughs mentions latah several times in his 1959 novel Naked Lunch, "a parody of modern mass man under modern conditioning programmes of advertising and public[ly] induced morality", according to Eric Mottram. Burroughs described latah as involving echopraxia, as well as being forcibly induced rather than spontaneously occurring. Latah is also mentioned in Burroughs 1963 novel The Yage Letters. Possible causes
The onset of latah is often associated with stress. In a study done by Tanner and Chamberland in 2001, a significant number of research participants had experienced a life stressor (such as a child or husband dying) just before becoming latah. Additionally, a large number of participants from many research studies have reported strange dreams occurring just before the onset of latah. These dreams usually had a sexual element to them, often involving penises. According to Tanner and Chamberland, perhaps the dreams, although with variation, indicate some sort of dysfunction in a specific anatomical area. Exploring this further might lead to more insights as to the cause and/or cure of latah. : 526–529  Osborne (2001) states that latah is a possible emotional outlet in a stifling culture.