Clinical Depression Seen as Major Problem by Most Americans

A poll released by Rasmussen Reports on Tuesday leaves little room for doubt that Americans view clinical depression as a major burden for those diagnosed with it.

The poll, which was taken after actor Robin Williams committed suicide, shows 87 percent of American adults believe clinical depression is a serious problem and 52 percent of the total surveyed see it as a very serious problem. Only 6 percent of those surveyed see clinical depression as not very serious or not at all serious. Almost half of those surveyed -- 47 percent -- say someone in their family deals with clinical depression.

The poll of 1,000 adults was taken from Aug. 13-14 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.