Using standardized diagnostic criteria and methods to investigate both severity of depression and nature of symptoms of depressive disorder in female patients in Dubai we studied 56 cases (mean age 32.3 yrs) suffering from depression diagnosed on ICD-10 criteria attending the psychiatric facilities in a hospital in Dubai. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Depression Scale (MMPI-D), were employed. The results were evaluated according to age, marital, educational and occupational status, and socio-economic class. The findings of this pilot study indicate that the illiterate patients tend to show more severe depressive symptoms when presenting to psychiatric services than educated patients. Low socio-economic status was also related to the intensity of depressive symptoms. These patients scored significantly higher, when compared to American patients on whom data are presented in the BDI manual, on the items of feeling of punishment, loss of appetite, weight loss, body image change, fatigableness, somatic preoccupation, insomnia, irritability, and social withdrawal. They were less likely to score on the items of self-dislike, suicidal ideas, indecisiveness, and self-accusation. These preliminary findings are discussed in...