Experience of Depression Among Female Students Residing in a Dormitory Complex: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Depression is one of the most common issues among mental health related issues amongst Iranian students; a topic that has thus far been the area of research by lots of researchers with the medical and psychological origins. These researches are mainly conducted using a quantitative approach. Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to achieve qualitative understanding of depression experience and the representational implications of this phenomenon among those depressed. In this study, the question is how individuals experience and perceive depression. Methods: This is a qualitative study with directed approach to content analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews. Therefore, the findings were obtained through interviews with 15 female students and analyzed using the thematic analysis technique. Results: The collected narratives represent depression as an unpleasant experience with damaging consequences for body, soul, and social relationships. However, after reflecting on these narratives, it was found out that depression is a process and not an immediate occurrence; this process was followed using the following six main categories or themes that have been derived from interviews: (1) underlying family conditions; (2) underlying education and university conditions; (3) underlying dormitory and environmental conditions; (4) fear of the future and imagining a tomorrow full of darkness; (5) cyberspace, experience of depression and feeling of isolation; and (6) failed emotional attachment, experience of depression, and feelings of grief. According to the findings, the “situation in jeopardy” seems to be the best concept through which “experience of depression” can be brought to an anthropological understanding. Conclusions: Therefore, discussions have been made on the need to form a framework for broader support networks and the rethinking of socio-cultural and economic policies at the meso and macro levels of the society. It seems that the present research also implicitly opens a way to explore and understand the inter-subjectivity of students as an important part of Iranian society.