Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Tappen, Ruth M.

Abstract

Researchers have reported a high prevalence of depression among older Hispanics in the United States when compared to other ethnic groups. Cultural variations in the perception of depression sometimes make it difficult to recognize the disorder resulting in older Hispanic patients not being diagnosed and not receiving appropriate treatment. The purpose of this study was to explore older Hispanics’ explanatory model of depression and identify culture-specific factors that may help in the recognition and treatment of depression. A mixed-method design that combined qualitative and quantitative methods was used. Fifty participants were interviewed using Kleinman’s Explanatory Models ethnographic approach with a vignette variation, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Cross Cultural Measure of Acculturation (CCMA). The findings suggest that this group of older Hispanics did not recognize depression as an illness but rather as the result of life stressors and personal weaknesses. People who experience depressive symptoms were described as being crazy, bored, worried, or having a problem of the nerves. These culturally coded terms may confound diagnosis among many Hispanics who find depression an unacceptable and shameful condition. This cultural pattern seemed to prevail among low and high-acculturated individuals which may complicate the diagnosis of depression by health care providers. This study highlights the complexity and diversity of this group of older Hispanics’ conceptual model of depression. The results of this study will contribute to nursing care by providing additional information that will help professionals when working with Hispanic patients with depression. Findings expand our understanding of older Hispanics (high and low-acculturated, depressed and non-depressed) groups’ conceptualization of depression and can be used to inform the adaptation of culturally relevant approaches to better serve the Hispanic community in this country.

Extent

140 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA0004055

Format

pdf

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