Cultural Determinants of Depression: A Case Study of Village Mir Karam Khan Birohi (Mangal), Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to elaborate the phenomenon on, “Cultural determinants of depression” among people living in village ‘Mir Karam Khan Birohi (Mangal) Sindh Pakistan. This study is focused to find-out the relationship of the culture and psychological disorder among people living in the village. Moreover, the research is an attempt to document the indicators of depression. For instance, social, economic and environmental causes which drive towards depression. Further, the study has documented the major environmental causes of depressive disorder. Second part of the study is executed to describe the indigenous ways of healing depression and anxiety. Therefor the study has documented major local ways people have employed to overcome the disorder. Similarly, the research has elaborated religious rituals performed for the healing depression. The present study is an ethnographic research, therefore qualitative and quantitative methods have been employed to decipher the major causes of culture-bound syndromes of depression faced by the people. The key informant conversational interviews, structured and semi-structured interviews are some of the techniques applied for conducting the research for detailed data collection. Focus group discussions were conducted at different stages of the fieldwork. Moreover, a sample of thirty individuals (25 males and 5 females) is selected through purposive sampling technique. Several theoretical approaches have been applied to explain why there are social gradients in depression and why some people are more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than others. For instance, Durkheim’s classical work on differences in suicide rates laid the basis for development in the field of social psychology (Allcock, 1955, p. 87).