How did later scholars explain shamanic initiation differently from older theories about psychosis?

Mid-20th-century theories that attributed shamanic initiation to psychosis and mental illness have been widely discredited by modern scholarship.1

While earlier perspectives argued that physiological changes at puberty or individual psychological crises triggered hallucinations and involuntary shamanic vocations, contemporary analyses emphasize that these experiences are deeply rooted in cultural and historical contexts rather than individual pathology. Instead of viewing the initiate's revelation as a symptom of a disordered nervous system, later scholars suggest that the process is shaped by:1

• Cultural Influences: The social status and expectations surrounding shamans within a specific community.1
• Historical Circumstances: External events such as epidemics, floods, or invasions that impact the community.1
• Demographic Factors: The need for new shamans based on population growth and the current number of active practitioners relative to the community's needs.1

Ultimately, modern research recognizes that what may appear as pathological in Western folk psychology is often a culturally integrated and functional role within the initiate's society.12