Tolerance for depression: are there cultural and gender differences?

This study examined tolerance for depression among Jewish and Protestant men and women in the United Kingdom. A measure of tolerance for depression was developed, which examined willingness to admit to and seek help for depression. More specifically, the items in the measure (developed from extended interviews) covered empathy towards sufferers, potential virtues of the illness, hopes for treatment, seeing the illness as 'normal', and telling other people about it. Existing evidence suggested that tolerance for depression might be greater amongst Jews compared with Protestants, and women compared with men. Also, Jewish men were expected to be more tolerant than Protestant men, whereas Protestant and Jewish women were not expected to differ from each other. It was found that tolerance for depression was greater amongst Jews than Protestants, and this is consistent with the elevated levels of depression amongst Jewish men as compared with Protestant men. However, findings relating to gender were mixed and were not always consistent with our expectations. The findings suggest that there may be some cultural variations in willingness to admit to and seek help for depression, and this may be worth examining in other cultural-religious groups. Individual variations in tolerance for depression may be clinically significant.