No abstract

The finding that people of Chinese heritage tend to emphasize somatic rather than psychological symptoms of depression has frequently been discussed in the culture and mental health literature since the 1970s. Recent studies have confirmed that Chinese samples report more somatic and fewer psychological depression symptoms compared to “Western” samples. The question remains, however, as to whether or not these effects are attributable to variation in all the constituent symptoms or to a subset. If the latter, there is the additional possibility that some symptoms might show a divergent pattern. Such findings would have implications for how cultural variations in symptom presentation are interpreted, and would also inform the cultural study of affective experiences more broadly. The current study addressed these issues in Chinese (n = 175) and Euro-Canadian (n = 107) psychiatric outpatients originally described by Ryder et al. (2008). Differential item functioning (DIF) was used to examine whether specific somatic and psychological symptoms diverged from the overall patterns of cultural variation. Chi-square analyses were used to examine atypical somatic symptoms (e.g., hypersomnia), previously neglected in this literature. No DIF was observed for the typical somatic symptoms, but Euro-Canadians reported greater levels of atypical somatic symptoms, and showed higher rates of atypical depression. DIF was observed for psychological symptoms—the Chinese reported high levels of “suppressed emotions” and “depressed mood,” relative to their overall psychological symptom reporting. Chinese outpatients also spontaneously reported “depressed mood” at similar levels as the Euro-Canadians, contrary to prevailing ideas about Chinese unwillingness to discuss depression. Overall, the findings provide a more nuanced picture of how culture shapes symptom presentation and point toward future studies designed to unpack cultural variation in narrower subsets of depressive symptoms.

Mainland China has undergone profound changes dating back to the nineteenth century, including a contemporary period of rapid modernization that began in the 1980s. The result has been dramatic social, cultural, and economic shifts impacting the daily lives of Chinese people. In this paper, we explore the psychological implications of sociocultural transformation in China, emphasizing two central themes. First, rising individualism: findings from social and developmental psychology suggest that China’s rapid development has been accompanied by ever-increasing adherence to individualistic values. Second, rising rates of depression: findings from psychiatric epidemiology point to increasing prevalence of depression over this same time period, particularly in rural settings. We argue that links between sociocultural and psychological shifts in China can be usefully studied through a cultural psychology lens, emphasizing the mutual constitution of culture, mind, and brain. In particular, we note that the link between social change, individualism, and rising mental illness deserves careful attention. Our review suggests that shifting values and socialization practices shape emotion norms of concealment and display, with implications for depressive symptom presentation. The challenge comes with interpretation. Increasing prevalence rates of depression may indeed be a general response to the rapidity of sociocultural change, or a specific consequence of rising individualism—but may also result from increasingly ‘Western’ patterns of symptom presentation, or improvements in diagnostic practice. We conclude by considering the challenges posed to standard universal models of psychological phenomena.

No abstract

Summary The magnitude of the associations between life‐course change in weight status and health outcomes in adulthood has been inconsistent. This study aims to examine the associations between weight change from childhood to adulthood and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and outcomes in adulthood. PubMed, Embase and ISI Web of Science between 1 August 1953 and 13 July 2020 were searched, and a total of 52 eligible articles were included. The systematic review supported significant associations between the life‐course increase in BMI and high odds of markers in adulthood. In the meta‐analyses, normal weight in childhood but excess weight in adulthood or persistent excess weight was associated with increased odds of adult markers. However, those who had excess weight in childhood but were normal weight in adulthood did not have increased odds of nearly all adult markers. This systematic review and meta‐analysis suggest that individuals who developed excess weight in adulthood or had excess weight in both periods had higher odds of developing CVD risk factors and outcomes in adulthood. In contrast, the probability of these adult markers could be limited or eliminated for children with excess weight who are able to become adults with normal weight.

The US Fourth Report (2004) recommended that elevated blood pressure (BP) on at least three occasions should be used to define hypertension in children and adolescents. However, there is no sufficient evidence to support this decision. This study aimed to assess the change in the prevalence of elevated BP obtained on three separate visits in children and adolescents worldwide using a meta-analysis. The PubMed database was searched for eligible studies published in English until 20 April 2016. Included studies were population based and reported on the prevalence of elevated BP measured on two or three separate occasions in pediatric populations. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate a summary prevalence of elevated BP over three different visits. A total of 21 studies with 179 561 participants aged 3-20 years were included in the present meta-analysis. The summary prevalence of elevated BP decreased across visits, from 12.1% (95% confidence interval (CI)=10.1-14.0%) during the first visit to 5.6% (95% CI=4.3-7.0%) during the second visit and to 2.7% (95% CI=2.1-3.3%) during the third visit. These findings were independent of sex, age group, ethnicity/race and the definition of elevated BP. When compared with visit 1, the prevalence of elevated BP decreased by 53.7% during visit 2 and by 77.7% during visit 3. Our study suggested that the prevalence of elevated BP decreased substantially from the first visit to the subsequent visits. Worldwide, the true prevalence of hypertension in children and adolescents is ~3% over three different visits.

With a starting point in John Abela's groundbreaking developmental psychopathology research on adolescent depression in China, we aimed to review the state of the literature on Chinese depression across the lifespan. We began with Dr. Abela's published studies relevant to depression in China and our own research with adults before turning to the reference lists of these articles to find additional sources. Then we conducted literature searches using PsycINFO and PubMed to find other relevant studies published between April 2001 and April 2011 . There are two distinct literatures on depression in China. Developmental psychopathology research has emphasized adolescent samples and cognitive models of causation; cultural-clinical psychology and cultural psychiatry research have emphasized adult samples and the meanings associated with emotions, symptoms, and syndromes. Both approaches to the study of depression in China have yielded important findings but have also highlighted issues that could be better addressed by incorporating the other approach. Beyond depression in China, the psychological study of culture and mental health more generally would benefit from greater exchange between developmental psychopathology and cultural-clinical psychology.

The replication of the Chinese structural model of somatization in South Korea lends empirical support to the view that somatization can be understood as the consequence of specific cultural scripts. These scripts involve the experience and expression of distress as well as culturally meaningful ways in which this distress is conceptualized and communicated to others.