Sex differences in the expression of depressive responses on the Beck Depression Inventory.

Abstract

Although epidenniological data have documented sex differences in depression, the nature and origins of the differences are unclear. Depression in a large sample of young, unmarried college students was measured and described by the Beck Depression Inventory. No sex differences were found in the degree of depression experienced by these students, and yet, discriminant function analysis of the responses of the most depressed scorers yielded a significant and interpretable sex difference in the patterns of symptom expression. Depressed men were more likely to report an inability to cry, loss of social interest, a sense of failure, and somatic complaints. Women were characterized by indecisiveness and self-dislike. These patterns were not the same as sex role stereotyped responding in the total, predominantly nondepressed, sample. Speculations were made about the consequences of sex differences in depressive responses, including hypotheses about sex differences in experience with help-seeking and labeling.Sex differences in depression are widely acknowledged. In a report on the epidemiology of depression, Lehmann (1971) asserts, "It is well known that the female-to-male ratio is about 2:1 for depressive illness in Europe and North America" (p. 24). Weissman and Klerman (1977) thoroughly document sex differences in primary affective disorders, and in her monograph on the epidemiology of depression, Silverman (1968) concludes:There appear to be no exceptions to the generalization that depression is more common in females than males, whether it is the feeling of depression, neurotic depression or depressive psychosis, (p. 74)In actuality, the phenomenon appears to be far more complex than the conclusions are uniform. It is unclear whether women are in fact more depressed than men, or whether male and female experiences with depression differ in ways that lead women to express symptoms, cope with, seek help, or receiveThe authors are greatly indebted to Lew Bank,

The Masculine Depression Scale: Development and psychometric evaluation.

“…We also expected the MDS to correlate strongly with the somatic symptoms assessed by the traditional depression scales and weakly with the emotion-focused symptoms. Men who adhere to hegemonic masculine norms tend to endorse somatic symptoms of depression and tend to avoid endorsing emotion related symptoms (e.g., crying frequently) (Hammen & Padesky, 1977;Salokangas, Pacriev, Sohlman, & Lehtinen, 2002). To further assess the scale's convergent validity, it was hypothesized that the MDS would correlate strongly with the Gotland Scale of Male Depression, because both of these scales purport to measure the same underlying construct.…”

“…For example, men diagnosed with depression are more likely to have comorbid alcohol abuse problems (Angst et al, 2002;Roeloffs, Funk, Unutzer, Tang, & Wells, 2001). Men are also more likely than women to report engaging in activity to avoid thinking about their depression and to report somatic complaints, concerns regarding work success, inability to make decisions, and general social withdrawal (Hammen & Padesky, 1977;Kessing, 2006;Kleinke, Staneski, & Mason, 1982;Kornstein et al, 2000;Padesky & Hammen, 1981;Vredenburg, Krames, & Flett, 1986;Winkler et al, 2004). On the other hand, men are less likely than women to report crying (Hammen & Padesky, 1977;Kleinke et al, 1982;Salokangas, Pacriev, Sohlman, & Lehtinen, 2002).…”

Relational self-regulation: Gender differences in risk for dysphoria.

“…First, although research shows that the rate of depression is typically found to be twice as high in women as compared to men (Culbertson, 1997;Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990;Weissman & Olfson, 1995), it is important to note that gender differences in the rate of depression are not typically found in college samples (e.g., Hammen & Padesky, 1977;Stangler & Printz, 1980). Nonetheless, research using college samples can be useful in isolating gender differences in the types of factors that contribute to variance in dysphoria within these samples.…”

origines sociales et culturelles des troubles psychologiques

“…Il faut cependant noter quelques exceptions en Australie (Parker, 1979), au Missouri et au Maryland (Comstock et Helsing, 1976). Les différences de sexe sont également absentes chez une population de collégiens américains, donc plus jeune et à très grande majorité céliba-taire (Hammen et Padesky, 1977). L'écart observé pour les troubles mineurs disparaît ordinairement quand il s'agit de troubles majeurs.…”

“…A notre avis cependant, le facteur de sélection risque peu de jouer dans les pays du tiers monde où la femme a peu de responsabilité personnelle dans la décision d'immigrer. Nous croyons plutôt que là où les rôles sont égale-ment valorisés, qu'ils soient similaires comme dans les universités ou très différenciés comme dans certaines sociétés traditionnelles, les écarts entre les taux de dépression s'amenuisent (Hammen et Padesky, 1977).…”