In high-income countries, the percentage of the population diagnosed w

Question

In high-income countries, the percentage of the population diagnosed with clinical depression is much greater than that in low-income countries. Researchers hypothesize that this difference is due to the increased leisure time afforded to residents of high-income countries.

The hypothesis of the researchers depends on which of the following assumptions?

A. Someone is more likely to suffer from clinical depression if a close relative has been previously diagnosed with the same illness.
B. Access to accurate diagnostic procedures for depression is equal for residents of high-income and low-income countries.
C. Most activities characterized as "leisure time" in low-income countries are low cost.
D. Certain medications that effectively treat clinical depression are not readily available in low-income countries.
E. Residents of low-income countries are less likely to have access to adequate treatments for clinical depression.

doimGMAT · Answer

A. Someone is more likely to suffer from clinical depression if a close relative has been previously diagnosed with the same illness. 
Inconclusive evidence provided.

Access to accurate diagnostic procedures for depression is equal for residents of high-income and low-income countries. 
This is a variable that can impact the investigation of the hypothesis, therefore this must be assumed to be controlled. This is correct.

Most activities characterized as "leisure time" in low-income countries are low cost. 
Inconclusive evidence. Also this is not related to diagnosis.

Certain medications that effectively treat clinical depression are not readily available in low-income countries. 
Lol.

E. Residents of low-income countries are less likely to have access to adequate treatments for clinical depression.
The hypothesis is referring to diagnosis, not treatment. E is out.

Nyuhhe · Answer

The correct answer is indeed B. Access to accurate diagnostic procedures for depression is equal for residents of high-income and low-income countries. This assumption is crucial for the hypothesis, as it ensures that the diagnosis rates are influenced by leisure time rather than disparities in the availability of diagnostic procedures.

Paras96 · Answer

B. Access to accurate diagnostic procedures for depression is equal for residents of high-income and low-income countries.

The researchers are hypothesizing that the higher percentage of the population diagnosed with clinical depression in high-income countries compared to low-income countries is due to the increased leisure time afforded to residents of high-income countries. In essence, their hypothesis suggests that clinical depression diagnoses are influenced by the availability of leisure time.

To depend on this hypothesis, the researchers need to assume that the diagnostic procedures for clinical depression are equally accessible and accurate for residents of both high-income and low-income countries. Here's why:

If diagnostic procedures for depression were not equally accessible or accurate in low-income countries, it could lead to underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis of depression cases. This would mean that even if people in low-income countries are experiencing clinical depression at rates similar to those in high-income countries, they may not be diagnosed or may be misdiagnosed due to lack of access to accurate diagnostic procedures.

As a result, the researchers' hypothesis that leisure time is the main factor behind the observed difference in clinical depression rates would be flawed because it's not the leisure time itself causing the difference, but rather the differences in access to accurate diagnostic procedures. Therefore, option B is a crucial assumption for their argument because it ensures that the diagnosis rates are not biased by unequal access to diagnostic tools, supporting their hypothesis that leisure time is the primary driver of the disparity in clinical depression rates.

carcass · Answer

OE

Identify the Question Stem: The word assumptions indicates that this is a Find the Assumption question.

Deconstruct the Argument: A greater percentage of people in high-income countries is diagnosed with depression than in low-income countries. Some researchers think that this has to do with leisure time—specifically, that people in high-income countries have more leisure time and that, for some unstated reason, this results in more people becoming depressed.

Pause and State the Goal: On Assumption questions, your goal is to find something that the researchers must believe to be true in making their argument. For example, since they conclude that increased leisure time is the cause, they're assuming that there is not some other, different cause that is more likely. They're also assuming that there isn't some other reason to explain the data point—for example, perhaps more people in low-income countries are depressed but they don't have adequate access to the healthcare system to be diagnosed and treated.

Work from Wrong to Right:
(A) While it may be the case that there is a hereditary component to depression, the researchers' argument doesn't address whether this illness runs in families. Rather, the researchers hypothesize that the incidence of depression has something to do with the relative amounts of leisure time that different societies have.
(B) CORRECT. The researchers accept that there is actually a higher incidence of depression in high-income countries, not just that a greater percentage of the population manages to get diagnosed. In other words, the researchers are assuming that it is not the case that more people are depressed in the lower-income countries but are just not being formally diagnosed.
(C) This may be true but the researchers do not assume anything about how much money leisure activities might cost. They hypothesize only that people in high-income countries spend more time conducting leisure activities than do those in low-income countries.
(D) It's reasonable to think that this is true, but the argument concerns being diagnosed with depression in the first place. This choice is about being treated after someone is diagnosed; the researchers' argument doesn't address treatment or possible discrepancies in treatment.
(E) This answer is incorrect for the same reason as answer (D): The argument concerns being diagnosed with depression in the first place, but this choice is about being treated after someone is diagnosed. The researchers' argument doesn't address treatment or possible discrepancies in treatment.

The correct answer is (B).

In high-income countries, the percentage of the population diagnosed w

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In high-income countries, the percentage of the population diagnosed w

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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