Exploring the Reasons behind Perceived Severity of Modern and Traditional Types of Depression in an American Undergraduate Sample

Abstract

Aim: A subtype of depression called Modern-type depression (MTD) is typically viewed as less severe compared to the Traditional-type depression (TTD). The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons behind the differences of perceptions when assessing the severity of MTD and TTD. Methods: After reading two vignettes describing an individual who is experiencing symptoms of MTD or TTD, participants (N = 300, Mage= 20.36) were asked to rate the severity of the depression for each and rank, in order of importance, a set of sentences in each vignette that served as reasons why they chose that rating. Results: Overall, TTD was more likely to be rated as severe than MTD. Those who perceived high severity in TTD relied on the information of the individual experiencing mental and physical consequences a high workload. Those who perceived high severity in MTD also relied on the same information of X suffering a high workload; however, those who perceived low severity in MTD relied more on the information of the individual complaining about the workload. Conclusion: These results indicate that perceptions of each disorder may in part come from which information people pay attention to. Future studies should explore the possibility of other factors, such as familiarity with mental health disorders or certain trauma experiences that could lead some individuals to process circumstances and situations within each depression to reduce stigma of mental disorders.