BACKGROUND: Dysfunctional parental styles, as measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), have been associated with adult depression in Western cultures. This study sought to determine whether such parental styles are also associated with adult depression in a non-Western society. METHOD: PBI scores and parental styles assessed by PBI quadrants were explored in 51 Japanese depressive patients and controls in a matched, case-control design. RESULTS: Low care and high protection scores were associated not with melancholic but with non-melancholic depression. Subjects exposed to dysfunctional parental styles demonstrated a high risk for non-melancholic depression. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the association between dysfunctional parental styles on PBI and non-melancholic depression may be independent of cultural differences.
BACKGROUND:Dysfunctional parental styles, as measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), have been associated with adult depression in Western cultures. This study sought to determine whether such parental styles are also associated with adult depression in a non-Western society. METHOD: PBI scores and parental styles assessed by PBI quadrants were explored in 51 Japanese depressivepatients and controls in a matched, case-control design. RESULTS: Low care and high protection scores were associated not with melancholic but with non-melancholic depression. Subjects exposed to dysfunctional parental styles demonstrated a high risk for non-melancholic depression. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the association between dysfunctional parental styles on PBI and non-melancholic depression may be independent of cultural differences.