Lay beliefs about causes of depression
Acta Psychiatrica ScandinavicaPublished 4 September 2003
Christoph Lauber, Luis Falcato, Carlos Nordt, Wulf Rössler
Citations81
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.51
SNIP2.00
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TL;DR
Assessing lay beliefs about causes of depressive behaviour and analysing the influence of labelling and demographic factors on causal attributions are analyzed.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Assessing lay beliefs about causes of depressive behaviour and analysing the influence of labelling and demographic factors on causal attributions. METHOD: In Switzerland we conducted a representative telephone survey with 873 interviewees. A vignette depicting a man with depression satisfying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-III-R criteria was presented. Content analysis of up to three answers about assumed causes was conducted. RESULTS: For more than half the respondents (56.6%) difficulties within the family or the partnership are causal for depression. Occupational stress is the second most-mentioned cause (32.7%), whereas unspecified further stress is in third place (19.9%). Traumatic events (17.9%), depressive disorder (14.1%) and further unspecified illnesses (11.6%) follow. Few correlations were found between causal attributions, labelling and demographic factors. CONCLUSION: The respective causal attributions are mainly independent of demographic factors, thus generalizable for the population. The attributions are shaped primarily by psychosocial ideas about aetiology. Nevertheless, one-third of the interviewees holds biological or disease-related beliefs about causes of depression. The respective illness models cannot be neglected in the therapeutic relationship.
Keywords
PsychologyMedicineArts and Humanities
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