{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T18:35:44Z","timestamp":1781894144009,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]],"date-time":"2025-01-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736294400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Although the etiology of depression is incredibly complex, the narrative that it is caused by a simple \u201cchemical imbalance\u201d persists in lay settings. We sought to understand where people are exposed to this explanation (i.e., the \u201csource\u201d), and the relative influence of each source.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 1,219 college students were asked where they had heard of the chemical imbalance explanation and how much they believed this to be true. Independent raters coded open-ended responses and we used self-report measures to capture chemical imbalance belief endorsement.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The most common sources of exposure to this explanation were the classroom, the Internet\/media, other people (e.g., friends), and healthcare providers. In a regression analysis, only learning about the chemical imbalance explanation from healthcare providers uniquely predicted the adoption of the chemical imbalance belief. The correlation held even after controlling for depression symptoms, a family history of depression, and having had a diagnosis or treatment of mental health disorder (all of which also uniquely predicted chemical imbalance belief endorsement).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>These results suggest that healthcare providers play an important role in the dissemination of the chemical imbalance message, which is an oversimplified, scientifically controversial, and potentially treatment-interfering narrative. Interventions directed at healthcare providers may help them engage with more accurate messages.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2024.1469913","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]],"date-time":"2025-01-08T14:16:56Z","timestamp":1736345816000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Where do \u201cchemical imbalance\u201d beliefs come from? Evaluating the impact of different sources"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Hans S.","family":"Schroder","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jordyn","family":"Tovey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Reni","family":"Forer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"William","family":"Schultz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth T.","family":"Kneeland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jason S.","family":"Moser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1080\/15332985.2019.1700872","article-title":"Let\u2019s talk about depression: social workers\u2019 use of chemical imbalance explanations","volume":"18","author":"Acker","year":"2020","journal-title":"Soc. 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