| Abstract: | This article explores the psychosocial and environmental configurations that might have been responsible for an unusual situation of survival under extreme conditions. A group of 500 civilians (mostly Americans) lived 3 ½ years in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines during World War II. Although conditions were very harsh, the survival rate of this group was better than expected for a comparable group under normal conditions. Discussion of available demographic, social organizational, and cultural information leads to three hypotheses that might account for this outcome. |
