TY - JOUR
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Aged
KW - Aged, 80 and over
KW - Asian Americans/psychology
KW - Attitude to Health
KW - Culture
KW - Depression/ethnology/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Patient Acceptance of Health Care
KW - Primary Health Care
KW - Sick Role
KW - Somatoform Disorders/ethnology
KW - Stereotyping
KW - United States
AU - A. Yeung
AU - D. Chang
AU - R. L. Gresham Jr
AU - A. A. Nierenberg
AU - M. Fava
A1 - 
AB - 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.
BT - The Journal of nervous and mental disease
C5 - Healthcare Disparities; Medically Unexplained Symptoms
CP - 4
CY - United States
IS - 4
JF - The Journal of nervous and mental disease
N2 - 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.
PP - United States
PY - 2004
SN - 0022-3018; 0022-3018
SP - 324
EP - 327
EP - 
T1 - Illness beliefs of depressed Chinese American patients in primary care
T2 - The Journal of nervous and mental disease
TI - Illness beliefs of depressed Chinese American patients in primary care
U1 - Healthcare Disparities; Medically Unexplained Symptoms
U2 - 15060408
VL - 192
VO - 0022-3018; 0022-3018
Y1 - 2004
ER -