SOCIO - CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING DEPRESSION AMONG WOMEN IN DISTRICT FAISALABAD

Abstract

There is a significant global challenge regarding the mental health of individuals worldwide. Major depressive disorder, also known as depression, is quite prevalent in adult Pakistani women. The World Health Organization has highlighted the need for extensive study and research regarding the possible social factors that serve as a threat to the mental health of women in general. This study aimed to recognize the crucial socio-cultural determinants of depression among women in District Faisalabad. The relationship between financial stress and mental health problems among women was also investigated. The nature of this study was quantitative and a cross-sectional design was used. The sampling technique to select the respondents in the ongoing research was purposive. The data was collected from the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences of the District Head Quarter (DHQ) Hospital Faisalabad. The target population included adult women between the ages of eighteen and forty-five and the sample consisted of a total of one hundred and fifty respondents. A structured questionnaire was used to record the required responses. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The chi-square and gamma tests were used to check the association between the variables, i.e., socio-cultural factors and depression. The findings of the study revealed that forty-nine percent of the women reported that they often face domestic violence, twenty-nine percent of the women were often a target of family violence, eighty-one percent of the women reported having low emotional support, forty-eight percent of the women reported that their parents neglected them physically or emotionally in the childhood or adolescence. Fifty-two percent said that they often experience financial stress, seventy percent of women had high spousal support, eighty-five percent of women had high family support, forty-two percent strongly agreed with having personal autonomy in major decisions of life, thirty-three percent agreed with having personal autonomy in minor decisions and ninety percent of women strongly disagreed with the statement that they can fulfill their basic needs without being dependent on anyone. The bi-variate analysis shows a statistically significant association of domestic violence, emotional support, spousal support, financial stress, parental neglect, personal autonomy in major decisions, financial dependence, and family support with the incidence of major depressive disorder. On the contrary, family violence and personal autonomy in minor decisions of life were not found to be significantly associated with depression among women. It is recommended that women diagnosed with clinical depression should be referred for individual counseling by the relevant healthcare providers and the right investments should be made in empowering women and ensuring the mental well-being of women on the societal level by public policy  makers.