AbstractsPsychology

The first goal of the current study was to comprehensively assess depressive and anxiety symptomatology, and examine the resultant symptom structures among 206 Caucasian Canadian and 251 Chinese Canadian university student samples in relation to the tri¬partite conceptual model put forth by Clark and Watson (1991). The current study used 14 symptom measures assessing the affective (e.g., low positive affect), the cognitive (e.g., worry), and the somatic aspects (e.g., autonomic hyperarousal) of depressive and anxiety symptomatology. Items that were found to function differently across the current two samples via the techniques of item response theory were considered to be culturally biased and were subsequently removed from these 14 measures so that the true structural relations among measures of depressive and anxiety symptomatology could be illustrated. The current study identified differences in symptom structures between Chinese and Caucasian samples (e.g., worry and autonomic hyperarousal), as well as differences between these two samples' symptom structures and the structures of the original tripartite model (e.g.. lack of depression specific element). After the cross sample differences and similarities in symptom structures of anxiety and depressive symtomatology were identified, the second primary goal of the current study was to further investigate cultural influences on between-group similarities and differences in the resultant symptom structures of anxiety and depression. Symptom factor scores were found to relate only to specific but not generic indicators of an individual's cultural experiences (e.g., Negative Acculturating Experiences). Furthermore. among 201 items of the 14 symptom measures included in the current study, 52 items (about 26%) were found to be culturally biased, with about one half of them being more likely endorsed by the Chinese sample and about the other half more likely endorsed by the Caucasian sample. The phenomenon of cultural bias at an item level was common, because all scales used in the current study contained culturally biased items, and because bias responding tendency was found within both Chinese and Caucasian samples. Cultural contrast response tendency, a composite variable of all cultural biased items. was found to relate to some but not all aspects of cultural orientations (e.g.. Canadian External Orientation). It also showed a greater relation than symptom factors with cultural orientation measures. The third goal of the current study was to explore individuals' cultural and depressive experiences with a qualitative approach using a semi-structured interview, in order to discover new culturally relevant themes that may link individuals' cultural background with psychopathology. Three themes were identified among the interviews of Chinese Canadian university students. portraying the role of Chinese culture in understanding an individual's depression, illustrating the mechanism linking culture with psychopathology, and highlighting the significance of a qualitative…