Adolescent Onset of the Gender Difference in Lifetime Rates of Major Depression

Abstract

Prepubescent boys are, if anything, more likely than girls to be depressed. During adolescence, however, a dramatic shift occurs: between the ages of 11 and 13 years, this trend in depression rates is reversed. By 15 years of age, females are approximately twice as likely as males to have experienced an episode of depression, and this gender gap persists for the next 35 to 40 years. We offer a theoretical framework that addresses the timing of this phenomenon. First, we discuss the social and hormonal mechanisms that stimulate affiliative needs for females at puberty. Next, we describe how heightened affiliative need can interact with adolescent transition difficulties to create a depressogenic diathesis as at-risk females reach puberty. This gender-linked vulnerability explains why adolescent females are more likely than males to become depressed when faced with negative life events and, particularly, life events with interpersonal consequences.

Understanding the Sex Difference in Vulnerability to Adolescent Depression: An Examination of Child and Parent Characteristics

“…Some researchers have suggested that the increased value adolescent girls place on interpersonal relationships puts them at greater risk for depression (e.g., Cyranowski et al, 2000;Rudolph, 2002), but our suppression results suggest that adolescent girls' focus on relationships may have a positive influence on their lives under some circumstances, as their positive cognitions about relationships were associated with a reduced likelihood of depression. Our suppression findings represent a novel contribution to the literature, but they are consistent with past research demonstrating that social support is a protective factor for adolescent depression (e.g., Dumont & Provost, 1999).…”

“…Stated another way, if girls did not have higher levels of these positive factors compared to boys, the sex difference in likelihood of depression would be even larger than it is. The findings suggest that, interpersonal variables, which are generally perceived as potential causes of the sex difference (e.g., Cyranowski et al, 2000;Rudolph, 2002), may actually serve to minimize the sex difference in adolescent depression when the conditions are positive.…”

“…The current study's selection of variables is largely driven by an interpersonal perspective on the sex difference in depression. Researchers have proposed that the emergence of the sex difference in adolescence is in part due to a developmental trend for girls to increasingly value relationships at this time, making them increasingly vulnerable to interpersonal difficulties (see Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000;Rudolph, 2002, for reviews of evidence in favor of this perspective; see Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994, for a contrasting view). This line of research draws upon the gender intensification theory of adolescent development (Hill & Lynch, 1983), which describes increased social pressure to conform to stereotypically male and female roles.…”

Regrouping: Organized Activity Involvement and Social Adjustment Across the Transition to High School

“…Female athletes, more so than their male peers, have been found to focus on the socio-emotional aspects of participation, placing greater emphasis on the related benefi ts of participation such as camaraderie and identifi cation with team members (Weiss & Frazer, 1995). Given girls' greater needs for relationships during adolescence (Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000), they may be more aware of and sensitive to the interpersonal interactions and implications of their activity involvement. Indeed, prior research suggests that girls often reap more social and emotional benefi ts from activity participation than boys (Fredricks & Eccles, 2008;Simpkins et al, 2008).…”

The Course of Depressive Symptoms in Men From Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Identifying Latent Trajectories and Early Predictors.

“…Studies have suggested that adolescents are at greater risk for depressive symptoms as they experience multiple developmental challenges (e.g., Petersen, Sirigiani, & Kennedy, 1991). However, adolescent onset of depressive symptoms appears to be more prevalent for adolescent girls than for boys (e.g., Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000), perhaps because girls are either more likely to be exposed to stressful environments or are more sensitive to such stressors (Compas & Wagner, 1991;Ge et al, 1994). It is also possible that there is a subgroup of men who develop depressive symptoms in their late 20's or early 30's, and the present study did not extend to this age period.…”