An Examination of Depression Self-Stigma in Asian and Caucasian Canadians

Abstract

symptoms when compared to Caucasians and other ethnic groups, and that suicide due to depression is the second leading cause of death for Asians residing in North America (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2011). Despite this, Asian individuals residing in North America have been shown to underutilize almost every form of mental health services, and are significantly less like to seek help for mental health-related problems, compared to Caucasians (Atkinson & Gim, 1989; Brown, 1998; Taylor et al., 2004). For example, a study by Le Meyer, Zane, Cho, and Takeuchi (2009) found that only 28% of Asian Americans use specialized mental health services compared to 54% of the general population. Furthermore, Asian Americans are significantly less likely to report psychological issues compared to somatic issues when seeking treatment (Yeung & Kam, 2005). Finally, in cases where treatment is sought for mental health related issues, the dropout rate for Asian individuals is much greater than Caucasian individuals (Leong & Lau, 2001). For instance, Sue (1977) found that 52% of Asian Americans who sought help for mental health services dropped out after only one session, compared to 30% for Caucasian Americans. These results show that Asian individuals underutilize mental health services despite the prevalence and the debilitating outcomes of depression in this population (Yang & Wongpat-Borja, 2007). This disparity in rates of mental health service utilization for depression between Asians and Caucasians in North America has been proposed to be attributable to multiple causes, including cultural variations in symptom expression and attribution, practical barriers, and most importantly, social factors affecting the experience and disclosure of depression, such as stigma (Sue, Cheng, Saad, & Chu, 2012). INTRODUCTION Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) of Mental Disorders as having symptoms of depressed mood, diminished interest or pleasure in activities, significant changes in weight, sleep and motor activities, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, recurrent thoughts of death, and diminished cognitive abilities (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). MDD is highly prevalent in North America, and is associated with high rates of recurrence and non-recovery. A recent epidemiological study conducted in Canada suggests that the lifetime prevalence of a major depressive episode was 12.2% (Patten et al., 2006).