The Influence of Genetic Factors and Life Stress on Depression Among Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Background:The possible causes of greater depression among adolescent girls were investigated by examining variation in the influence of genetic and environmental risk factors among 182 prepubertal female, 237 prepubertal male, 314 pubertal female, and 171 pubertal male twin pairs from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development.

Ten-year trends in adolescents’ self-reported emotional and behavioral problems in the Netherlands

“…Gender differences in emotional and behavioral problems were also found to be relatively stable over time. Roughly speaking, differences in emotional and behavioral problems between boys and girls can be explained by genetic differences (e.g., [30]) and by differences in gender role socialization processes [4,6]. Drawing on the genetic explanation, stable gender differences were to be expected, since it is highly unlikely that considerable changes in the population gene pool occurred during the last decade.…”

The moderation by the serotonin transporter gene of environmental adversity in the aetiology of mental illness: review and methodological analysis

“…55 The depressogenic effect of life events as measured by interview or self-report is stronger in females than in males, especially during adolescence. 56,57 It is possible that the current instruments do not give sufficient weight to life events relevant for adolescent males (for example events related to peer prestige) or that alternative outcomes, such as substance abuse or antisocial behaviour substitute depression in males. [58][59][60] The apparent effect of age may also reflect the distinction between first episode and recurrence of depression as the effect of SLEs decreases with the number of episodes.…”

Relação entre estressores, estresse e ansiedade

“…12 Silberg e cols. (1999) 14 realizou estudo com gêmeos no "Virginia Twin Registry" para avaliar o desenvolvimento comportamental de adolescentes e investigou a trajetória de sintomas depressivos entre meninos e meninas, da infância até a adolescência. O estudo buscou estimar a associação entre a suscetibilidade genética à depressão e eventos de vida estressores dependentes e independentes, como por exemplo mau desempenho na escola ou brigas com colegas e amigos, no ano que antecede o surgimento do transtorno depressivo.…”