LAUSR

Depression is a heterogeneous disorder that has various subtypes. In Japan, however, a prevailing misunderstanding is that the term utsu‐byo (clinical depression) indicates only the melancholic type. Consequently, a subtype called ‘modern‐type depression’ (MTD), which has contrasting features to those of melancholic or traditional‐type depression (TTD), is severely stigmatized in Japan these days. The present study conducted a cross‐cultural comparison of perceptions of TTD and MTD between Japan and the USA to examine how the Japanese collectivistic culture contributes to negative biases toward MTD.