DEPRESSION IN WOMEN OF COLOR
VeLora Lilly, PhD., LCSW
University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
San Francisco, California
Paper presented by Dr. Lilly at the American Group Psychotherapy Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, February 20, 1998.
As women of the world we share much in common: we are members of a gender group representing at least 50% of the population and are subject to a predominant patriarchal philosophy that would value us as objects and possessions, subject us to violence and domination, limit our personal and professional growth and deprive us of basic decision making about our bodies and ourselves.

However, there are myriad ways in which we may differ: in terms of race, culture, language, socioeconomic privileges, class, religion and sexual orientation. Too often our visible differences become a cause for division and misunderstanding. Yet we should not ignore or fear the diversity we represent.

Women of color are numerically a majority in the world although they are seldom in positions of power or advantage. They bear the yoke of sexism, racism and classism more often than their Caucasian sisters. Yet they are strong, creative and determined to live beyond survival.

Who are we?

Allow me to clarify who I am describing as "women of color" for the purposes of this discussion. I am referring to African-American, Latina, Native American, Asian, Mixed Race and Middle Eastern women who reside in the United States whether native born or recent immigrants. While they may share with their Caucasian sisters the consequences of sexism and classism, they share in common experiences of racism, discrimination, oppression and often poverty. Women of color across their ethnic and cultural heritages place a strong value on family, community, spirituality and respect for authority; they are also survivors. The combination of these variables can result in a significant level of depression.

It has been estimated that 9% of American women are depressed at any given time and that 20-25% will become depressed at some stage of their lives; twice as many women as men experience depressive periods and one out of ten women can expect to have a serious depression in her lifetime. There have been few, if any, studies devoted to the prevalence and causes of depression in women of color, therefore what we "know" is anecdotal and from clinical observations. Nevertheless, available published statistics report that African-American and Latina women have a rate of depression twice that of Euro-American women. (Warren, B. 1994)

Why is this so?

I would like to take a bio-psycho-social-political perspective in describing the experiences of women of color in relation to the dominant society, their culture and family and their internal selves:

MESSAGES FROM WITHOUT

MESSAGES AMONGST US