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Exploring Culture-Specific Differences in Beliefs about Causes, Kinship and the Heritability of Major Depressive Disorder: The Views of Anglo-Celtic and Chinese-Australians |
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| Authors: | Mimi Xu Lilian Zou Alex Wilde Bettina Meiser Kristine Barlow-Stewart Bibiana Chan Philip B. Mitchell Mariana S. Sousa Peter R. Schofield |
| Affiliation: | 1. School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2052, Sydney, Australia 2. School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2052, Sydney, Australia 3. Black Dog Institute, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Sydney, Australia 11. Psychosocial Research Group, Dickinson Building 3, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia 4. Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Sydney, Australia 5. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Sydney, Australia 6. Centre for Genetics Education NSW Health, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Sydney, Australia 7. Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2052, Sydney, Australia 8. Brain Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2052, Sydney, Australia 10. School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2052, Sydney, Australia 9. Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Sydney, Australia |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to explore cultural differences in causal attributions and beliefs about heritability of major depressive disorder (MDD). Face-to-face interviews with Anglo-Celtic- and Chinese-Australians community members with a family history of MDD were conducted and subjected to a rigorous qualitative analysis, using the computer software NVivo. Sixteen Anglo-Celtic-Australians and 16 Chinese-Australians were interviewed. Both groups believed that a combination of genetic and environmental factors contributed to MDD, that stress was an important cause of MDD, and that coping factors were significant moderators of the impact of stress on MDD. Both cultural groups believed that the causes of MDD affecting multiple family members included a shared family environment and a “contagion effect”, in addition to genetics. Unique to the Chinese-Australian group was the beliefs that parental pressures to exceed academically contributed to MDD; this cultural group also reported beliefs that depression was due to God’s will or alternatively fate, which in turn was related to attributions to feng shui and auspicious dates. This study documented key culture-specific differences in beliefs about causes and inheritance of MDD; such differences have major implications for clinician-patient communication about genetic risk associated with having a family history of MDD. |
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