ABC's report a bummer
Joel Campbell, a BYU journalism prof and the Mormon-guy-who-explains-the-media for the DNews, complains that a recent ABCNews story "framed" the Mormon culture as the cause of Utah's dismal statistics for depression, mental illness and medication. A handful of recent studies find Utahns are the most bummed-out people in the country—articles I'm sure the LDS Church and Chamber of Commerce clipped and posted on their bulletin boards.
ABC reports:
Campbell says ABC fell for Utah and Mormon stereotypes:
ABC reports:
The postcard image of Utah is a state of gleaming cities, majestic mountains and persistently smiling people. But new research shows a very different picture of the state, a snapshot of suicide and widespread depression.But ABC doesn't stop there, linking Utah's bummedness to the impossible quest for perfection demanded by the LDS Church.
Campbell says ABC fell for Utah and Mormon stereotypes:
Yes, Utah appears to have a depression problem, but there are no clear cause-and-effect relationships established between membership in the LDS church and depression. Nothing in the studies identified religious affiliation or gender, yet ABC news has no problem identifying the problem as an LDS problem and, particularly, a women or girl's issue. Could it be more prevalent among non-Mormons in Utah? Maybe, but we don’t know.Campbell points to a quote that ABC buried from Ted Wander of the Utah Psychiatric Association on the cause of Utah blues: "The truth is, we don't know why."
6 Comments:
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Why let facts get in the way of a good story?
Well, OK. Maybe Prof. Campbell should go read news accounts from last weekend's young women's gathering at the LDS Conference Center. The entire list of speakers devoted topics to telling young women over and over that they are responsible for keeping their families on the right moral track, that the tone of their homes begins and ends with them, that they must achieve righteousness, etc., etc.
But that's not pressure or anything. No, not at all.
In response to msmormon - You're right! The young women's gathering should have focused more on telling young women to not accept responsibility for teaching their families. If there's one thing that will help end depression in Utah, it is an increase in irresponsible women.
"Irresponsible women?" Who are you, Mr. Anonymous, my dad?
What I'm saying is LDS church leaders need to stop dumping the responsibility for making everything work on the women. How about the men get a little high-pressure lecture now and again?
While studying public health at the U some years ago, I wrote a paper on this issue. If you look at statistics for surrounding states, such as Nevada, and Idaho, there does seem to be correlation with the LDS lifestyle. As a former Utah "non" Mormon though, I think life for everybody has a dismal outlook.
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