Relationship between filial piety, meta-cognitive beliefs about rumination and response style theory in depressed Chinese patients

The presentation of depression varies across cultures and the Chinese culture lays considerable emphasis on filial piety. We studied the relationship between filial piety and psychopathology in the Chinese population in Hong Kong. 172 patients of Chinese origin were interviewed using Beck Depression Inventory, response style questionnaire (RSQ) to measure ruminative response styles and filial piety scale. Of 172 individuals, 67 were males and 105 females and mean age was 38.9 years (S.D. 12.74). Severity of depressive symptoms was strongly correlated with ruminative response style. Filial piety and depressive symptoms were negatively correlated, as were filial piety and ruminative styles as well as meta-cognitive beliefs about rumination. This study supports the association between rumination and depression in a clinical sample from a Chinese population. Strong meta-cognitive beliefs about rumination are associated with more severe depressive symptoms, mediated by ruminative response style showing that Culture-specific beliefs are important in clinical assessment of depression.