Mafia families in need of therapy

PALERMO, Italy, March 17 (UPI) -- Mafia families in Italy are suffering an identity crisis and could benefit from psychiatric help, says a study from the University of Palermo.

Psychiatric problems are rising steadily as the monolithic culture of Mafia society crumbles, said psychologist Girolamo Lo Verso, noting Mafia families aren't used to "seeing their world view challenged."

"They're like fundamentalists but as soon as something happens that brings the security wall down, they have crises," said Lo Verso, lead author of a study called "The Psychology of Organized Crime in the Mezzogiorno."

The study, which builds on a 2003 book, found clinical anxiety in 20 percent and personality disorders in 17 percent of 81 people interviewed from Mafia families, including 55 adults, nine teenagers and seven children, reported ANSA, the Italian news service.

The 81 came from Italy's three main Mafia organizations -- Sicily's Cosa Nostra, Campania's Camorra and Calabria's 'Ndrangheta, ANSA reported.

As the fictional character Tony Soprano demonstrated in the television show, the Mafia and their families are stressed out by mob life and modern living, said Lo Verso, noting, "They seem increasingly uncertain that they've made the right choice."