the Paradox of Spirit-empowered Depression

Described as the “common cold” of mental health problems, depression is a burgeoning issue in the United States. Although depression is commonly pathologized as a biochemical, clinical disorder, there are claims that personal, social, and cultural contexts shape depression and that it is the contemporary society that makes people depressed. However, there is little research exploring how the Pentecostal social context might contribute to or shape Pentecostals’ experiences of depression. This dissertation contributes to this research gap. It uses Grounded Theory to facilitate an interpretative interaction between the researcher and the data to answer the research question of how Pentecostals living in the United States experience, understand, and respond to depression. The emergent theory helps explain the participants’ depression experiences and the meaning they created around those experiences while also exploring how their meanings and actions are embedded and shaped within larger social constructs.