Social Causes of depression 

 

 

Social class and social relations have an effect on depression. 

 

 

Brown and Harris (1978). 

 

Aim: to investigate how depression could be linked to social factors and stressful life- events in a sample of women

Procedure:

• 458 women in South London were surveyed on their daily life and depressive episodes.

• The researchers focused on important biographical details (particular life events or particular difficulties faced by the women)

•  These events were later rated in severity by independent researchers ( a third party)

Result

• There was a large effect of social class as measured by the occupations of the women's husbands on the development of depression in women with children.

• Woman in the working class with children are 4 times more likely to depressed compare to middle class woman

• 8% of all the women (37 in total) had become clinically depressed in the previous year.

• 3 of these 37 women (nearly 90%) had experienced an adverse life event or a serious difficulty.

• Only 4 of the 37 women who became depressed had not experienced any adverse life events

• Only 30% 0f the non depressed woman suffered from adverse life events

Three Major factors of depression

1. Protective factor: protected against depression—high levels of intimacy with one's husband—these factors lead to higher levels of self-esteem and the possibility of finding other sources of meaning in life.

2.  Vulnerability factors: increase risk of depression in combination with particularly stressful life (provoking agents ): Loss of one's mother before the age of 11, lack of a confiding relationship, more than three children under the age of 14 at home and  unemployment.

3. Provoking agents ( mentioned above): contribute to depression and can result in hopelessness

      Evaluation:

• Strength:

  • New way of looking at depression that was not really addressed before

  • The semi structured interviews did help researchers to understand how the woman were feeling

  • The study provided methodology insights that later other studies used.

• Limitation:

  • Gender bias—not generalizable to men

  • Cultural bias—This study is only in the western world

  • impossible to actually determine the severity of the depression

  • only establish correlations

 

Implications: This study shows that social factors like social class and family relations does have an effect of depression. This also supports Beck’s theory.