Cited by 136Mental Health Treatment and AccessSouth Asian Studies and DiasporaHealth disparities and outcomes

Culture in psychiatric epidemiology: using ethnography and multiple mediator models to assess the relationship of caste with depression and anxiety in Nepal

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Kohrt, Brandon A., Speckman, Rebecca A., Kunz, Richard D., Baldwin, Jennifer L., Upadhaya, Nawaraj, Acharya, Nanda Raj, Sharma, Vidya Dev, Nepal, Mahendra K. +1 more·2009·Annals of Human Biology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The causes of ethnic and caste-based disparities in mental health are poorly understood. AIM: The study aimed to identify mediators underlying caste-based disparities in mental health in Nepal. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A mixed methods ethnographic and epidemiological study of 307 adults (Dalit/Nepali, n=75; high caste Brahman and Chhetri, n=232) was assessed with Nepali versions of Beck Depression (BDI) and Anxiety (BAI) Inventories. RESULTS: One-third (33.7%) of participants were classified as depressed: Dalit/Nepali 50.0%, high caste 28.4%. One quarter (27.7%) of participants were classified as anxious: Dalit/Nepali 50.7%, high caste 20.3%. Ethnographic research identified four potential mediators: Stressful life events, owning few livestock, no household income, and lack of social support. The direct effect of caste was 1.08 (95% CI -1.10-3.27) on depression score and 4.76 (95% CI 2.33-7.19) on anxiety score. All four variables had significant indirect (mediation) effects on anxiety, and all but social support had significant indirect effects on depression. CONCLUSION: Caste-based disparities in mental health in rural Nepal are statistically mediated by poverty, lack of social support, and stressful life events. Interventions should target these areas to alleviate the excess mental health burden born by Dalit/Nepali women and men.

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  • Some anthropologists are already using workflows similar to the proposed integration, without agent-based modeling, to good effect.

    “Some anthropologists are already employing similarly oriented workflows -- minus the agent-based modeling -- to good effect (Brown et al., 2009; Kohrt et al., 2009).”

    From Syndemics: a theory in search of data or data in search of a theory? (2018) · cites this paper as Kohrt et al., 2009

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Kohrt BA Kunz RD Koirala NR Sharma VD Nepal MK 2002 Validation of a Nepali version of the Beck Depression Inventory Nepalese Journal of Psychiatry 2 4 123 130
  2. Kohrt BA Kunz RD Koirala NR Sharma VD Nepal MK 2003 Validation of the Nepali Version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory Journal of the Institute of Medicine 25 1 1 4

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Authors
Kohrt, B. A., Speckman, R. A., Kunz, R. D., Baldwin, J. L., Upadhaya, N., Acharya, N. R., Sharma, V. D., Nepal, M. K., & Worthman, C. M.
Affiliations
  • Emory University (US)
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (US)
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
  • Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Tribhuvan University (NP)
Corresponding author
Kohrt, Brandon A.
Venue
Annals of Human Biology
Published
2009-01-01
Volume
36
Issue
3
Pages
261-280
ISSN
  • 0301-4460 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-5033
OpenAlex
W2127351918
Cited by
136
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 8
FWCI
7.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annals of Human Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH075584)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › South Asian Studies and Diaspora
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords
Brahman, depression, anxiety, social support, poverty, life events, livestock ownership, rural Nepal, mediation
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Animal Husbandry, Anthropology, Cultural, Anxiety, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Marriage, Models, Psychological, Nepal, Personality Inventory, Poverty, Psychological Tests, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Social Class, Social Support, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic

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