Lecture 20: Cultural Aspects of Mood Disorders Flashcards
Define culture
A set of unique behaviours and lifestyles from a group of individuals who share values, habits, customs, beliefs which act to shape emotions, behaviours and life patterns
Culture may change as individuals change
Other notions of culture come from:
- The process of civilisations developing from agrarian societies
- Shared identities
What are micro-identities?
As cultural groups can be defined in many ways, a micro-identity may arise from a narrower group inside a large set
For example being a medical professional and British
Name some characteristics of culture
- Dynamic
- Integrated into people’s live
- Acquired in several ways
- Ensures a sense of generational stability
- Has capacity to impact cognitive and social development
- Changes acutely or over time
How may culture influence mental health?
- Culture will influence which symptoms arise
- Culture will influence how symptoms are expressed
- Culture will influence whether and which type of help is sought
- Culture will influence the experience of them and coping
How may socio-centric and ego-centric individuals differ
Socio-centric –> (? link to collectivist) –> more traditional, ones rank is predtermined, less individual choice and shared identity
Ego-centric –> nuclear family, less social links more independents, more autonomy
What did Hofstede (1980/2001) propose
Difference between collectivist and individualism societies
Collectivism –> more pronounced social ties/groups within individuals, perhaps more traditional but sense of community, more powerful institutions
Individualism –> more I-ness, individual choice for relationships, financial decisions, jobs –> looser ties between individual and the society
Outline some concerns between collectivist and individualistic societies?
Collectivist:
- Less ability for individual expression
- Less choice and outcomes influenced by societal ideas
- Material resources shared
Individualism:
- Higher levels of expressed emotional distress and reported mental illness
- Higher levels of social/geographical mobility
Whether a person is ego-centric or sociocentric may form how well they are placed in different socities?
- Ego-centric -> better in an individualistic society but they may disregard need for social groups
- Socio-centric –> better in collectivist societies
What did Hofstede propose more important for men/women in work?
Men - advancement, earnings, training, up-to-dateness
Women - friendly atmosphere, position security, physical conditions, manager, cooperation
What dimensions did Hofstede propose to help define cultures?
1) Masculinity/Femininity index
2) Distance from power
Power distance index - high to low
Low power index - cultures with a flat hierarchy, i.e. less distance between junior-senior, decentralised decision, consultive leadership
3) Uncertainty avoidance:
anticipating events in distant future and long term strategies to avoid negative reactions
4) Long-term orientation index - high if persistence and long term goals are important important
( 5. individualism vs collectivism )
What does Hofstede propose are the consequences of low uncertainty avoidance?
Less hesitation to change - i.e. changing employers
More openess –> acceptance of foreigners as managers
Less anxiety levels
Less work stress
Describe the effects of low long-term orientation in a culture? (Hofstede 2001)
Individuals expect quicker results
Leisure aspects are important
Shame uncommon
Persistence of goals not important
Respect for tradition
Status important
What are explanatory models (Kleinman)?
Models for how an individual accounts their distress?
- What is it
- What’s it caused by
- How severe is it
- How will it be treated
Whatb are the cognitive factors for depression (Gilbert and Adler)
Social rank Defeat Sense of entrapment Trapped Learned helplessness
What is entrapment?
- Arrested flight
- Locus of control - internal vs external
Comparing high-income versus low to middle-income countries, which one has higher prevalence estimates of MDD?
- High-income countries
Which sociodemographic correlate is consistent across countries in MDD?
- Only gender
