Does depression exist in every culture?
Many of the risk factors for depression are similar across cultures. These include gender, unemployment, traumatic events. The themes of depression tend to revolve around loss. But what people make of their losses and how they interpret their distress differs tremendously across cultures.
Is depression different in different countries?
There are also significant differences between countries in the management of a patient with symptoms suggestive of depression. International differences in prevalence rates for depression, and perhaps other diseases, may in part result from differences among health care systems in different countries.
What social and cultural influences might contribute to depression?
Various theories have emphasized one set of presumed causes of depression over another: some stress biological predisposition (temperament, genetic or biochemistry); others psychological issues (personality or personal history and familial environment) and others still, attribute the appearance of depression to …
How does culture cause depression?
Ethnomedical research suggests that cultural differences in focusing on oneself and one’s place within the social group are linked to the amount of depression that occurs. Some of this difference comes from the individualistic vs. collectivistic orientation of a particular culture.
How cultural differences affect mental health?
Culture is related to mental health and substance use on several different levels. First, community members from different ethnic or cultural groups may have a higher risk of mental health or substance use problems because they may experience a greater number of stressors, such as discrimination and isolation.
Which cultures are most depressed?
Latino adolescents tend to have higher levels of symptoms of depression than some of their Caucasian and African American peers. An explanation for this difference is the increase in cultural stressors that in turn add to this form of cultural disparity.
Is there a link between depression and culture?
Cultural identity often influences the degree to which a particular individual shows physical symptoms of depression. In other words, some cultures are more comfortable reporting depressive symptoms that are physical in nature rather than mental.
What explains higher incidence of depression in United States as compared to Italy?
It has been identified that diet rich in processed food, lacks in vital nutrition which makes our mind to function, which explains low depression rates in Italy as compared to United States.
Is depression more common in certain countries?
Depression is a major cause of morbidity worldwide, as the epidemiology has shown. Lifetime prevalence estimates vary widely, from 3% in Japan to 17% in the United States. Epidemiological data shows higher rates of depression in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and U.S.A than in other countries.
Which culture is more likely to have depression?
Yet research shows a rather interesting pattern: depression is far more prevalent in Western cultures, such as the US, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand, than in Eastern cultures, such as Taiwan, Korea, Japan and China.
How can different cultures affect how one views mental health vs mental illness?
Furthermore, research has shown that the mental health experience of minorities has been greatly affected by culture and how society at large views that culture. Racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. are less likely than white people to seek mental health treatment, or to delay treatment until symptoms are severe.
How is depression viewed in North America?
The current concept of depression in North American societies is highly influenced by mainstream Western cultural values regarding “positive emotions and feeling good about the self” (Tsai & Chentsova-Dutton, 2002). Thus, decreased positive affect and decreased self-esteem have become salient symptoms of depression in mainstream American societies.
What are the causes of depression across cultures?
What are some causes of depression across cultures? Many of the risk factors for depression are similar across cultures. These include gender, unemployment, traumatic events. The themes of depression tend to revolve around loss. But what people make of their losses and how they interpret their distress differs tremendously across cultures.
What are the symptoms of depression and anxiety in other cultures?
In some other cultures, anxiety and depression might not even be expressed in words. It can take the form of physical symptoms, such as headaches, backaches or stomach discomfort. Sadness, fear and preoccupation can be channeled through physical symptoms. These feelings are sometimes even better explained by religious or spiritual beliefs.
How common is depressive disorder in the US?
Depression is a disease that straddles all genders, ethnicities, races, and walks of life. Studies have shown that of the roughly 18 million Americans who struggle with mood disorders, approximately ten million of these individuals suffer from major or clinical depression. Of these ten million individuals, roughly two-thirds go without treatment.