Journal
JOURNAL OF NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE
Volume 192, Issue 4, Pages 324-327Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/01.nmd.0000120892.96624.00
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Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [5T32MH19126-10] Funding Source: Medline
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This study investigated the illness beliefs of 40 depressed Chinese Americans in a primary care setting using the Exploratory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC). Twenty-two depressed Chinese Americans (76%) complained of somatic symptoms; 4 (14%) reported psychological symptoms including irritability, rumination, and poor memory. No patients reported depressed mood spontaneously. Yet, 93% endorsed depressed mood when they filled out the CBDI. Twenty-one patients (72%) did not know the name of their illness or did not consider it a diagnosable medical illness, and five patients (17%) attributed their symptoms to pre-existing medical problems. Only three patients (10%) labeled their illness as psychiatric conditions. The patients generally sought help from general hospital (69%), lay help (62%), and alternative treatment (55%) but rarely from mental health professionals (3.5%) for their depressive symptoms. The results suggest that many Chinese Americans do not consider depressed mood a symptom to report to their physicians, and many are unfamiliar with depression as a treatable psychiatric disorder.
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