Women’s Experiences and Perceptions of Depression in India: A Metaethnography

Abstract

In India, social determinants of health, including poverty, domestic violence, and inadequate social support disproportionately affect women, leaving them more vulnerable to depression than men. We conducted a metaethnography to synthesize qualitative data from 13 studies (1987–2017) that explored women’s experiences and perceptions of depression in India. We used a feminist standpoint to critically examine how gender shapes these experiences and perceptions. Indian women’s experiences of depression were embedded in their social worlds. Women perceived interpersonal conflict, caregiving burden, domestic violence, financial insecurity, adverse reproductive events and widowhood as causes of depression. Women used cultural expressions to describe physical, emotional, and cognitive distress. The detrimental impact of discriminatory social conditions, gender inequalities, and traditional gender roles on Indian women’s mental health highlights the need for gender-sensitive mental health research and practice that can attend to women’s sociocultural context and promote values of gender equality and social justice.