Explanatory models of depression in Greek-born and Italian-born immigrants living in Australia: Implications for service delivery and clinical practice

Introduction: The current study examined cultural differences in explanatory models of depression in a community-based sample of mid to older aged Greek-born and Italian-born immigrants living in Melbourne, Australia. Methods: Participants took part in a 1-h face-to-face interview with a bilingual interviewer. During this interview, information related to the participant's explanatory model of depression were examined, including causes, important symptoms, course and development, consequences and treatment. Results: Overall, participants followed a "social" based as opposed to a "disease" based model to describe depression. The Italian-born participants were also found to hold concurrent beliefs for the course and treatment of depression. Discussion: The clinical and service implications of these results are discussed.