[The controversy of depression in black Africa: a study of cultural causes]

Epidemiological data about depression in Africa are contradictory. Until the fifties, an almost absence of depression was reported in the studied population and from the fifties till today, a prevalence comparable to these of others continents is found. The authors discussed methodological and technical grounds susceptible to explain this controversy, with a special focus on cultural factors according to the parental and way of thinking of the Kongos in Zaïre.