ABSTRACT
For the sociologist, depression is the outcom e of a social structure that deprives individuals, w ith certain roles in life, of control of their destiny. This view focuses on processes such as urbanisation, the influence of social class, racial m em bership, ethnic background, and political and economic forces in the causation of depression, and provides an explanation for increased rates of m ental illness am ong certain groups, such as working-class women. As an example, a feminist interpretation of the high rates of depression in w om en w ould be that w om en are oppressed and that depressive feelings of helplessness and w orthless ness are understandable in term s of w om en's current status in society.
