Abstract
BackgroundDepression is a mood disorder that may lead to severe outcomes including mental breakdown, self-injury, and suicide. Potential causes of depression include genetic, sociocultural, and individual-level factors. However, public understandings of depression guided by a complex interplay of media and other societal discourses might not be congruent with the scientific knowledge. Misunderstandings of depression can lead to under-treatment and stigmatization of depression. Against this backdrop, this study aims to achieve a holistic understanding of the patterns and dynamics in discourses about depression from various information sources in China by looking at related posts on social media.MethodA content analysis was conducted with 902 posts about depression randomly selected within a three-year period (2014 to 2016) on the mainstream social media platform in China, Sina Weibo. Posts were analyzed with a focus on attributions of and solutions to depression, attitudes towards depression, and efficacy indicated by the posts across various information sources.ResultsResults suggested that depression was most often attributed to individual-level factors. Across all the sources, individual-level attributions were often adopted by state-owned media whereas health and academic experts and organizations most often mentioned biological causes of depression. Citizen journalists and unofficial social groups tended to make societal-level attributions. Overall, traditional media posts suggested the lowest efficacy in coping with depression and the most severe negative outcomes as compared with other sources.ConclusionsThe dominance of individual-level attributions and solutions regarding depression on Chinese social media on one hand manifests the public’s limited understanding of depression and on the other hand, may further constrain adoption of scientific explanations about depression and exacerbate stigmatization towards depressed individuals. Mass media’s posts centered on description of severe outcomes of depression without suggestions of solutions’ effectiveness, which may induce more anxiety among depressed individuals. Campaigns promoting comprehensive understandings about depression and popular works translating scientific findings on depression to the public are called for.
Highlights
Depression is a mood disorder that may lead to severe outcomes including mental breakdown, self-injury, and suicide
High response efficacy; and 3
The current study aims to investigate depression-related discourses in China formed on a popular social media platform, Sina Weibo, with its focus on examining attribution of depression, solution to depression, and efficacy as suggested in the messages, and how their patterns vary across different sources
Summary
Depression is a mood disorder that may lead to severe outcomes including mental breakdown, self-injury, and suicide. Public understandings of depression guided by a complex interplay of media and other societal discourses might not be congruent with the scientific knowledge. Misunderstandings of depression can lead to under-treatment and stigmatization of depression. Against this backdrop, this study aims to achieve a holistic understanding of the patterns and dynamics in discourses about depression from various information sources in China by looking at related posts on social media. Depression is a common yet severe mood disorder with holistic impact on individuals including their mood, perceptions, cognitions, and daily activities such as sleeping, food intake, working, etc. In China, more than 54 million people (4.2% of the population) were suffering from depression by 2015 [4]. Stigma brings shame and guilt to both the depressed individuals and their families, further discouraging them to reach out for professional help [10, 11]
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