A Meta-Analytical Comparison of Depression Prevalence in GCC Countries

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Abstract

Depression is a highly prevalent mental disorder that prevents individuals to live a rewarding life. Cross-sectional research observed especially high prevalence rates of depression in female and younger individuals of the Middle East even though these results lack systematic validation. Aiming to systematize previous research on depression, this meta-analysis gathered depression mean scores and prevalence of severity categories in 18,717 adult citizens (Mage = 26.43 years, SD = 9.98, range 19.30 – 54.17) assessed by Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in the GCC countries in the last twenty years. Results showed similar and stable prevalence and severity of depression across and within the GCC population throughout the last twenty years. Controlling for associated factors such as age, gender distribution, and student populations, we furthermore found that young and female individuals appeared to be at greater risk for depression. Results might be explained by cultural changes the GCC states went through since the discovery of oil but also by a sampling bias present in the research of mental health in the Arab region. Therefore, results are discussed regarding the socio-cultural change of the GCC states and recommendations for future research are given.

ISSN

2666-6227

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Volume

5

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Arab region, Beck's Depression Inventory, Gulf Cooperation Council, Mental Health, Student population

Scopus ID

85169506779

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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