Sociocultural etiology

Disorder: MDD intro

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder it is indicated by affective, behavioural, cognitive and somantic symptoms. According to the DSM-5 it is charactetised by the following sysmptoms: lowered mood most day, reduced interest or pleasure in most activities, significant weight changes, daily insomnia or hypersonmia, reduced or agitated motor activity, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, diminished concentration and cognition, recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation and suicidal plan.

The severity of MDD may be classified as mild, moderate or severe depending on the number of symptoms experiences, the frequency of symptoms and the severity of symptoms.

why is this a discussion

It is important to discuss the explanations of MDD, as this allows for better understanding of its causes. The treatment of a disorder like MDD should match its cause, therefore making it important to fully understand the etiologies of MDD to be able to effectively treat it. It is generally thought that the interaction of multiple etiologies is necessary to explin MDD effectively due to the combination of factors and symptoms which are related to it.

Holism

It is generally accepted that MDD isnt caused by solely biological, cognitive or sociocultural factors, but rather the combination of all three. When discussing the etiologies of a mental illness a holistic approach is necessary, and a focus on how the different explanations work together and interact. This can be seen in the widely accepted diathesis stress model of mental illnesses which suggests that individuals have a biological predisposition to a disorder, but it only manifests itself as the disorder when it is triggered by cognitive and sociocultural factors.

Social vulnerability/ provoking factors

The vulnerability model estabilished by Brown and Harris explains how social vulnerability and provoking factors can be used to explain depression. Brown and Harris suggest there are protective factors which decrease the risk of developing depression in combination with particularly stressful life events. These protective factors include: close bonds with other people, who can offer understanding, support and assistance during difficult times, and a strong sense of community. Contrarily the model suggests that provoking factors increase the risk of developing depression in combination with particularly stressful life events. The most significant vulnerability factors identified were: loss of one’s mother before the age of 11, lack of a confiding relationship, more than 3 children under the age of 14 at home, and lastly unemployment. Additional provoking factors that could contribute to the development of depression are accute and ongoing stress. The onset of depression depends on the balance and level of protective and vulnerability factors, having 1 or 2 vulnerability factors may not always trigger the development of depression. ***check whether its provoking or vulnerability factors and keep consistent***

Socul etiology: Studies

Brown & Harris (1978)

Hays, Turner & Coates (1992)

Evaluation etiology

+ Supported by research studies, showing association between -ve life events, +ve life events and depression

+ Considers multiple factors/ interaction between factors in the etiology

- Doesnt consider individual differences in appraisal/ cognitive part of depression. many individuals experience life events without developing depression, maybe cognitive factors play bigger role than event itsself.

- Difficult to study, unnethical for lab experiments/ to alter social factors, therefore mainly correlational research. No causal relationship can be obtained from correlation, do ppl develop MDD because they lack social confiding relationship or do they lack confiding relationship because they have depression.

- No treatment based on this theory, one cannot just alter all their negative life events, life events are often not able to be controlled.

+ one can try to increase the protective factors in place to combat and outweigh the negative life events/ provoking factors.