Journal de la dépression et de l'anxiété
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Interdependence and Depression: Does an Interdependent Culture Provide Effective Buffer Against Depression?

Rowena Kong*

This literature review examines the cultural factor which potentially contributes to the difference between high rates of depression in Western nations and significantly lower rates in the East. Somatisation of depressive symptoms by the Chinese is addressed and attempted to be explained from the perspective of emotion as a relational component of self as opposed to residing discretely within a person. The possibility of an interdependent cultural environment which provides a buffer against the higher risk of depression amongst Asians as observed from their greater frequency of serotonin transporter polymorphism genotype may explain the low prevalence of depression in East-Asian countries. The lower risk-taking tendency of East Asians, promoted by interdependent cultural philosophy and mediated by increased amygdala reactivity, may serve as an additional means to counter greater genetic susceptibility to clinical depression. Upon analysing the trend in the United States shortly after World War II, it is possible to link together the concurrent increase in individualism and rates of depression in the country. Social factors appeared to have affected the surging rates amongst high-risk groups of women and the young population. The rate of depression in more interdependent rural areas was lower than urban regions of the United States, with a similar difference observed between rural and urban Canada. The lower rate in rural settings was related to its residents’ stronger sense of community belonging. Overall, research findings give further weight to the relationship between the interdependence of a culture and the depression rates of its people.