Depressive phenomenology in North and South American patients.
The authors assessed patients newly admitted to two North American health centers and one South American (Colombian) center according to a standardized protocol, with a structured interview, a symptom checklist, and a depression scale. The patients were suffering from major depressive disorders with endogenous features. There was an impressive similarity in symptoms of depression across cultures, supporting the idea of a universal core depressive syndrome. However, somatization indexes, psychomotor components of depression, and levels of psychopathology differed between U.S. and Colombian samples. The authors offer a general discussion of potential determinants of these cross-cultural differences.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003105:Colombia; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D014481:United States