Seasonal Psychiatric Consequences of Major Depressive Disorder in Adults Residing in Chitral
Authors
MASUD AKHTAR, MUHAMMAD NAVEED RIAZ, GHULAM MURTAZA BODLA and MUHAMMAD AKBAR
Abstract
Rosenthal et al. (1984) introduced the term of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as a subtype of major depression which manifests itself in winter season. Its more famous form is winter depression. Past researchers focused on major depression in most of the researches conducted in Pakistan. However, the present study is an initiative to investigate the impact of major depression on SAD and winter depression in adults. Secondly, the study also examined gender differences in depression, SAD and winter depression among adults. Moreover, best and worse conditions in Pakistan due to seasonal changes were also investigated. Personal Inventory for Depression and SAD Scale and depression subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were major tools of research for measuring SAD, winter depression and depression respectively. Survey method and cross-sectional design is used for data collection from 1000 adults. The study was conducted in Chitral. Linear regression analysis showed that depression positively predicted SAD and winter depression. Independent sample t-test identified gender differences and showed that women exhibited more depression, SAD and winter depression as compared to men. The study confirmed that symptoms of major depression lead towards winter depressions and SAD. Women suffer from MDD, SAD and winter depression more than men counterparts. The study also provided the scientific evidence of seasonality in terms of best and worst conditions among Pakistani adults.
Keywords: Major Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Winter Depression, Adults.