Life events and depression in the context of the changing African family The case of Uganda (original) (raw)

Introduction: Traditionally, the African extended family gave psychosocial support to all members, which cushioned any illness effects including depression. Recent changes in the African family, notably urbanization and market economies, have changed that structure. Changes, especially roles of the family and its relationship to life events and depression, have not received much research attention. Aim: To compare depressed and non-depressed patients in terms of their demographics, family structure, life events and depression. Methods: We compared quantitative data from 85 DSM-IV depressed patients that sought care at three Primary Health Care (PHC) centres with 170 unmatched non-depressed patients. To each group, we administered three questionnaires covering socio-demographics, family structure and an adapted Interview For Recent Life Events (IRLE). Results: Of the depressed patients, over 70% were females giving a M:F ratio of 2.3:1; 71.8% were aged < 39 years and 50.6% were ma...

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