Cadigan R Jean, Skinner Debra
a Department of Social Medicine , University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill , NC , USA.
Ethn Health. 2015;20(3):293-308. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2014.921889. Epub 2014 Jun 3.
This study examines experiences of depressive symptoms among a group of 32 low-income, African-American and White mothers of young children who resided in rural Eastern North Carolina, USA.
Women's experiences of depressive symptoms were elicited through a series of longitudinal ethnographic interviews, including an explanatory models interview specifically designed to elicit their beliefs about the causes, symptomatology and help-seeking behavior and management of depressive symptoms.
A content analysis of interview data indicated that most women (11 African-Americans and 15 Whites) reported having depressive symptoms currently or in the past. Both African-American and White women perceived the main causes of these symptoms as being relationship problems with a spouse, a partner, or a family member; lack of finances; and parenting stresses. There were no differences in the depressive symptoms African-American and White women reported, but there were differences in how they managed these symptoms and where they sought help. Most of the African-American women sought no formal treatment (i.e., pharmacotherapy and/or psychotherapy), but instead turned to their religious faith to deal with their feelings. White women were more likely to seek formal treatment.
These findings provide insights into the ways in which women in one nonurban area in the USA explained and experienced depressive symptoms and demonstrate differences in help-seeking behaviors that can be linked to beliefs about depression and perceptions of societal responses to those who have it, as well as to perceptions of and experiences with the health-care system. Results have implications for the implementation of education, intervention, and treatment programs in more culturally sensitive ways.
本研究调查了居住在美国北卡罗来纳州东部农村地区的32名低收入非裔美国人和白人幼儿母亲的抑郁症状体验。
通过一系列纵向人种学访谈来了解女性的抑郁症状体验，其中包括一次专门设计的解释模型访谈，以引出她们对抑郁症状的成因、症状表现、求助行为及应对方式的看法。
对访谈数据的内容分析表明，大多数女性（11名非裔美国人和15名白人）报告称目前或过去曾有过抑郁症状。非裔美国人和白人女性都认为这些症状的主要成因是与配偶、伴侣或家庭成员的关系问题、经济困难以及育儿压力。非裔美国人和白人女性报告的抑郁症状并无差异，但在应对这些症状的方式以及寻求帮助的途径上存在差异。大多数非裔美国女性没有寻求正规治疗（即药物治疗和/或心理治疗），而是依靠宗教信仰来排解情绪。白人女性更倾向于寻求正规治疗。
这些研究结果深入揭示了美国一个非城市地区的女性解释和体验抑郁症状的方式，并表明求助行为的差异可能与对抑郁症的看法、对社会对抑郁症患者反应的认知以及对医疗保健系统的认知和体验有关。研究结果对以更具文化敏感性的方式实施教育、干预和治疗项目具有启示意义。
