Gender differences in depressive symptoms in adolescence: Comparison of national samples of clinically referred and nonreferred youths.

Abstract

Gender differences in depressed mood, a syndrome of mixed anxiety-depression, and an analogue of major depressive disorder were compared in parents' and adolescents' reports in 2 large, demographically matched national samples of clinically referred and nonreferred adolescents. Referral status accounted for the greatest share of the variance in these problems. Gender differences were moderate in size and consistent in referred youths, with referred girls scoring higher than referred boys on all measures, whereas gender differences in nonreferred adolescents were either nonsignificant or small in magnitude. Gender differences were also larger in magnitude in adolescents' self-reports than in parents' reports. The interaction of age and gender was nonsignificant in all analyses. Implications for understanding the extent of gender differences in adolescents' depressive symptoms are highlighted. The rates of internalizing problems, most notably symptoms of depression, are higher among adolescent girls than boys (Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). Adolescence is assumed to be the developmental period in which these differences emerge and intensify, creating a pattern which continues with gender differences in depressive symptoms and disorder in adulthood (Leadbeater, Blatt, & Quinlan, 1995). What is less clear, however, is the magnitude and pervasiveness of these differences during adolescence; that is, how large are the effects of gender on depressive symptoms in adolescence? Are gender differences characteristic of the general population, or are they limited to a subgroup of youths, such as those who may be referred for or receive mental health services? The answers to these questions are meaningful for several reasons. First, it is important to document the extensiveness of gender differences in depressive problems to determine their role in overall models of adolescent development. If boys and girls in the general population differ in symptoms of depression, then this difference may represent a pervasive feature of normative adolescent development. Alternatively, if gender differences in these symptoms are limited to clinically referred youths, they may reflect processes that characterize only a subgroup of highrisk adolescents. Gender differences limited to only high-risk

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Growth mixture modelling in developmental psychology: overview and demonstration of heterogeneity in developmental trajectories of adolescent antisocial behaviour

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