Depression study

Jack Jensen, director of Mental Health Services at Utah Valley University, and Cameron John, an associate professor with the university's Behavioral Sciences Department, are dedicated to helping UVU students overcome depression. Jensen and John conducted a research study in an attempt to identify contributing factors to depression.

They were spurred to study depression and its effects in the UVU community by a 2007 Mental Health America study, which indicated that the state of Utah was No. 1 in depression sufferers among ranked states. Utah also did not fare well on the numbers of suicides per capita.

A side-by-side comparison of Utah and Texas, which ranked very low in the number of depression cases, showed that Utah does better in nearly every other area compared to Texas. Utah has higher education and wage levels, and more availability of mental health professionals and insurance coverage than Texas, so Jensen and John questioned Utah's ranking.

Their 2009-10 UVU study explored possible contributors to depression for students at UVU. A questionnaire was created and distributed to a random sample of students, which resulted in 1,000 usable questionnaires. They found that Utah Valley students have depression rates comparable to those found nationally. But there were some unique aspects.

"The results of the research suggest that there is a culture of perfectionism that is related to depression found at UVU," John said in a news release. "Aspects of perfectionism found included internally imposed standards, externally imposed standards and a high need for organization and competency. In addition, a person's perception of their spirituality or religious beliefs and experiences also played a role."

A total of 89 percent of the respondents indicate that they consider themselves to be a spiritual person and nearly 79 percent participate in organized religion. It was found that those with positive perceptions of religion or spirituality, and a positive perception of self within the religion, have a protective factor against depression. Negative perceptions of religion or spirituality, and negative self-evaluations relative to the religion, are a risk factor for depression.

The popular notion that more women suffer with depression compared to their male counterparts did not show up in their research. Men and women experienced a similar rate of depression, though there was a significant difference in the number of men and women formally diagnosed with depression.

John cautioned that there are numerous contributing factors that lead people to experience symptoms of depression, and this study is an attempt to explore just some of those contributors.

Jensen and John presented their findings at UVU's Ethics conference in September, and they will present the findings at the Utah College/University Counseling Center Conference in Park City Oct. 29, and at the Mental Health Institute in Salt Lake City Nov. 20.

The results of the year-long study have encouraged UVU's health services to improve efforts to reach students who are struggling with mental health issues.


http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_2c21750d-f5af-5c25-9dcf-0d4c316e76e7.html

In order to achieve any meaningful results, and I suspect past findings would be replicated concerning the extent of depression statewide.

Just from my experience (and you'd never know I was a Nevermo from my issues and therapy bills; I was raised by Jack Mormons within the LDS culture), college was as stressful as any job I've had, but the factors I see as contributing to "situational depression" are a generalized isolation (which is aggravated by being unable to find validation amd support within a peer group; Mormon judgmental perfectionism aggravates that one), low wages in comparison to cost of living (Texas may also be low in that area, but real estate prices are nowhere near Salt Lake's), and the demands of huge families on both stay-at-home mothers and overworked fathers (college students generally don't have many children).

And I am glad to see them reaching out to provide mental health services to students; when I was in school and working as a crisis line volunteer, the "LDS sorts" were in charge of the student government (where our funding came from), and their insensitivity on that one bordered on pathological.

My experience was the opposite. Earnings in Utah were lower than what was available here in Texas, and Texas has a relative cost of living that makes the money earned go farther than in Utah. I also found the bosses I've had here in Texas are generally easier to work with and for than those I had in Utah.

I didn't need to see study results to figure this out. It's been known for years that perfectionism contributes to depression. Utah is a nightmare when it comes to this. Try living in a small Utah town and watch how everyone around you spends most of their time trying to conform.

TBM SIL on his first visit to TBM famly in Utah came over to DH after playing b ball in MIL and FILs backyard with a stunned look on his face. He commented; even their garbage is wrapped perfectly; what's up with that?

I'm not saying being neat and clean is bad but when it's all a veneer and when you spend most of your time trying to accomplish perfection in insignificant things; the rest of life suffers.

Thank you, emanon, for putting this up. It's the kind of detailed study I've been wanting to read on the subject. This definitely strengthens the (to us, obvious) argument that Utah's high rate of depression is closely related to religious (Mormon) belief.

Having grown up in Utah and struggled with perfectionism myself (struggling even now as I take way too long to edit this comment ;D), I've suspected there is a 'culture of perfection' related to Mormonism, but wasn't sure if it was 'just me'. So I find this information very helpful for personal reasons as well.

Interesting to find out, too, that the men are suffering from this just as much and in even more silence than the women. Think that helps explain the high suicide rate.

Crazy how much of an impact metaphysical beliefs about the self and the nature of the world have on mental health--so much so that it would cancel out all the other comparative advantages Utahns seem to have...

Now if they would just do a similar study on OCD. (Always found it bizarre that in an apartment of 6 BYU roommates, 3 of us were diagnosed with this disorder!)