Skip to main content
Journal of the National Medical Association logoLink to Journal of the National Medical Association
letter
. 1982 Feb;74(2):185–190.

Symptomatology of Depression in Black and White Patients

Victor R Adebimpe, James L Hedlund, Dong Won Cho, John B Wood
PMCID: PMC2552836  PMID: 7120454

Abstract

This study compares the symptoms of public mental health patients diagnosed as having a depressive disorder, and then relates its findings to the previous literature concerning black-white differences in mental illness. Results of this study corroborate previous observations that a somewhat smaller proportion of black admissions than white admissions are diagnosed with a depressive disorder and that a higher proportion of black admissions are diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder. Some black-white differences in depressive symptoms were corroborated—notably, slightly higher percentages of hostility, dangerousness, and somatic complaints in blacks—and these appeared to be independent of socio-economic status.

Full text

PDF
185

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adebimpe V. R., Gigandet J., Harris E. MMPI diagnosis of black psychiatric patients. Am J Psychiatry. 1979 Jan;136(1):85–87. doi: 10.1176/ajp.136.1.85. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Adebimpe V. R. Overview: white norms and psychiatric diagnosis of black patients. Am J Psychiatry. 1981 Mar;138(3):279–285. doi: 10.1176/ajp.138.3.279. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Carter J. H. Recognizing psychiatric symptoms in black Americans. Geriatrics. 1974 Nov;29(11):95–99. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. De Hoyos A., De Hoyos G. Symptomatology differentials between Negro and white schizophrenics. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 1965 Autumn;11(4):245–255. doi: 10.1177/002076406501100401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Derogatis L. R., Covi L., Lipman R. S., Davis D. M., Rickels K. Social class and race as mediator variables in neurotic symptomatology. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1971 Jul;25(1):31–40. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1971.01750130033003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. PRANGE A. J., Jr, VITOLS M. M. Cultural aspects of the relatively low incidence of depression in southern Negroes. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 1962;8:104–112. doi: 10.1177/002076406200800203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Raskin A., Crood T. H., Herman K. D. Psychiatric history and symptom difference in black and white depressed inpatients. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1975 Feb;43(1):73–80. doi: 10.1037/h0076322. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Sabshin M., Diesenhaus H., Wilkerson R. Dimensions of institutional racism in psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry. 1970 Dec;127(6):787–793. doi: 10.1176/ajp.127.6.787. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Simon R. J., Fleiss J. L., Gurland B. J., Stiller P. R., Sharpe L. Depression and schizophrenia in hospitalized black and white mental patients. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1973 Apr;28(4):509–512. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1973.01750340047007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sletten I. W., Ernhart C. B., Ulett G. A. The Missouri automated mental status examination: development, use and reliability. Compr Psychiatry. 1970 Jul;11(4):315–327. doi: 10.1016/0010-440x(70)90213-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Spalt L. Demorgraphic characteristics in affective disorders. Dis Nerv Syst. 1975 Apr;36(4):209–214. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Steinberg M. D., Pardes H., Bjork D., Sporty L. Demographic and clinical characteristics of black psychiatric patients in a private general hospital. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1977 Feb;28(2):128–132. doi: 10.1176/ps.28.2.128. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Thomas C. S., Lindenthal J. J. The depression of the oppressed. MH. 1975 Summer;59(3):13–14. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Tonks C. M., Paykel E. S., Klerman G. L. Clinical depressions among negroes. Am J Psychiatry. 1970 Sep;127(3):329–334. doi: 10.1176/ajp.127.3.329. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Tuason V. B., Spalt L. H. Psychiatric disorders in a community mental health center. I. Demography and diagnoses. Compr Psychiatry. 1973 Sep-Oct;14(5):457–463. doi: 10.1016/0010-440x(73)90017-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Weiss B. L., Kupfer D. J. The black patient and research in a community mental health center: where have all the subjects gone? Am J Psychiatry. 1974 Apr;131(4):415–418. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Weissman M. M., Myers J. K. Affective disorders in a US urban community: the use of research diagnostic criteria in an epidemiological survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1978 Nov;35(11):1304–1311. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1978.01770350030002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Welner A., Liss J. L., Robins E. A systematic approach for making a psychiatric diagnosis. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1974 Aug;31(2):193–196. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1974.01760140045007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Welner A., Liss J. L., Robins E. Psychiatric symptoms in white and black inpatients. II. Follow-up study. Compr Psychiatry. 1973 Nov-Dec;14(6):483–488. doi: 10.1016/0010-440x(73)90033-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the National Medical Association are provided here courtesy of National Medical Association

RESOURCES