Dr. Jane Givens and colleagues, of Boston University Medical Center, surveyed 78,753 people with the help of an anonymous Internet depression-screening test offered free between January 1999 and April 2002 on the health information Web site InteliHealth, owned by Aetna US Healthcare.

The study published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry also found that nearly 65 percent said they would be most worried about their employers finding out about their depression diagnoses, although many said they would be concerned about the reaction of friends and family as well.

"This study documents that, overall, ethnic minorities hold attitudes toward depression and depression treatment that are distinct from those of white participants," Givens said in a statement.