A Cross-Cultural Study of Self-Report Depressive Symptoms among College Students

Abstract

A study of self-report depressive symptoms as measured by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) was conducted in three Asian countries-Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan - and in the United States. Mean scores for the 966 college students varied significantly across countries, with Korean students reporting high levels of depressive symptoms. Further, there are marked differences between countries in symptomatic manifestations, even after controlling for between-country differences in response set and overall level of symptoms. Future research addressed to cross-cultural differences in level and manifestations of depression should incorporate (a) research designs that control for identifiable measurement artifacts and (b) triangulation of measurement strategies.