A Sociological Analysis of Depression in China

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. How Depression Arises: A Sociological Questioning and a Methodological Reflection

   • I-Hsin Hsiao

   Pages 1-32

3. The Social Structure of Depression in China

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-39

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   2. Analysis of the Production Side: Depression in Drastic Space Changes

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 41-59

   3. Analysis of the Production Side: Depression in Drastic Time Changes

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 61-78

   4. Analysis of the Consumption Side: Socio-Psychological Context of Depression

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 79-99

   5. Depression in Capitalist Discourse: A Lacanian Psychoanalytical Interpretation

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 101-136

4. The Social Construction of Depression in China

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 137-138

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   2. Medicalization of Depression by the Production-Government-Academia-Media Complex

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 139-149

   3. The Public’s Cognition and Conceptualization of Depression

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 151-169

   4. Conclusion: A Sociological Analysis of Depression in China

      • I-Hsin Hsiao

      Pages 171-178

This book explores the relationship between macro-social structure, social construction and micro-healthcare behaviors. It constructs a two-layered and two-faceted sociological analytical framework to analyze the causes of depression in China and account for the comparatively low rate of depression in the country, and provides a sociological interpretation of depression in China from a global perspective that has rarely been adopted in previous sociological studies in China. 


Presenting first-hand data and case studies, it describes and analyzes patients’ subjective experience and actions as well as physicians’ viewpoints. It also includes interviews with 34 patients, 4 family members, 3 psychological consultants and 5 psychiatrists.


Offering an integrated interpretation of depression in China from the perspectives of sociology, medical science and psychology, this book is intended primarily, but not exclusively, for the growing body of researchers and students who are looking for ways of analyzing depression, especially in China. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners working in the field.

• Sociological Analysis of Depression
• Social Structural Causes of Depression
• Neoliberal Globalization and Depression
• Production Side of Depression
• Consumption Side of Depression
• Depression in Capitalist Discourse
• Social Construction of Depression
• Doctor-Patient Relationship and Depression
• Depression in China

• East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

  I-Hsin Hsiao

I-Hsin Hsaio, Doctor of Sociology from Essex University, UK; associate professor in the Department of Social Work in East China University of Science and Technology. Award: Ten Best Books of 2017 recommended by Chinese Sociological Association. Research interests: medical sociology. 


Junjun Xing (Translator), lecturer in the College of Foreign Languages of East China University of Science and Technology; Doctor of Linguistics from Fudan University, China; part-time post-doctoral researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2016 till now); visiting scholar to the University of Sydney, AU (Feb. 2019 to Feb. 2020).Research interests: Systemic Functional Linguistics, discourse analysis and translation studies.

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