Cultural Dimensions on Major Depressive Disorder

Cultural dimensions are a psychological theory initially created by a man named Geert Hofstede. He determined that there are six central cultural dimensions:

1. The Power Distance Index (the degree to which people in a society expect to be equal)

2. Individualism v. Collectivism (individualistic societies like the United States expect people to rely on themselves where collectivist societies like China expect people to lean on their communities)

3. Masculinity v. Femininity (in feminine cultures, gender roles are more fluid; in masculine cultures, the opposite is true)

4. Uncertainty Avoidance (the degree to which a society can handle uncertainty of the future)

5. Long-Term v. Short-Term Orientation (the extent to which people are able to give up short-term pleasure for long-term reward)

6. Indulgence v. Restraint (how much a society holds back from human desires)

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Unsurprisingly, with a field like anthropology, where humanity is at the forefront, psychological principles like these can be rather applicable. Particularly, there has been found an interesting correlation between being a part of a collectivist society and being diagnosed with depression. The correlation is mostly a genetic one, but it begs the question: are there more social reasons as well? (See Chiao and Balinsky's 2010 study, if you're interested in the numbers.) Here is one of my theories:

Collectivism as a Societal Pressure

Collectivist societies tend to encourage people to work for others and contribute to a group to be successful. That group may be one's family, town, country, etc. So, when you have been raised under the idea that you are a reflection of your society and ought to behave in a flattering way to your society, it may place a great deal of unnecessary stress upon your shoulders. Thus, in combination with the genetic factors that make folks from collectivist cultures susceptible to depression, there may also be the stress of expectations that lead people down darker paths.

Of course, there are a thousand different cultural explanations one could take on, from the ideologies common in Collectivist societies and their impacts on mental health to the simple location of most Collectivist cultures in harsh climates that may incite hopelessness or frustration. Still, I would be here forever theorizing and theorizing again. Perhaps that will wait for a vlog...

Happy Holidays, everyone!