Good question. There appears to be no single cause, although there are several factors that put Boston-area Puerto Ricans at higher risk for depression, including high rates of obesity and diabetes. But some causes of the depressive epidemic might prove harder to treat:
Their depression, the surveyed Puerto Ricans said, was often fueled by the sight of relatives departing Boston for warmer climes.
"They constantly referred to their social networks being undermined by people picking up and leaving," said Northeastern researcher Luis Falcón .
More like this
Two or three thoughts about the current crisis.
Visiting Arkansas, hanging around briefly with some people in the Real Estate business, I found a lot of hatred of Mexicans, whom they unimaginatively referred to as "spics" but making it clear they were talking about Mexicans, not some other spics.
Robbi Bishop-Taylor from Forster Australia took this great video of a Puerto Rican cheer at the pin exchange.
One of the peculiarities of American discussion about race is that skin color is assumed to be synonymous with racial distinctions. That is, skin color is not just a trait, but it is the trait which defines between population differences.
Barely, barely relevant question: What causes some people to get seasonal affective disorder and not others?
Slightly different questions:
* What causes some people to be affected more than others by low light levels and cold? No one likes the winter, but some people can barely function in it.
* What causes some people to be affected more than others by being poor and discriminated against? Poverty and racism are good reasons so be depressed, but some people get it much worse.