Objectify This

It has come to my attention that about twice as many women are depressed as men. So let’s read about it. Here’s an excerpt from an essay by Marwan M. Kazimi on the link between gender and depression (or you can read the whole essay).

Personality attributes of girls and boys have been linked to the gender differences in depression, especially with respect to the different responses to stress, or differing “coping styles.” Studies have shown that females are more likely to ruminate over their distress and males more likely to distract themselves (Ruble et al., 1993). This difference is important, because the former style may amplify and prolong depressive symptoms, thus leaving females more vulnerable to a depressive state. Furthermore, stereotypes that have been constructed over time and applied to females, such as passivity, helplessness, and dependence, are attributes consistence with a depressive image. Thus, construction of gender differences coincides, at least at some point, with the development of ideas concerning depression, and thus leads to speculation that societal factors play perhaps the most important roles in the differentiation of depression according to gender.

Obvious social challenges more often confront females than males in adolescence. Females are two to three times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse (Trickett and Putnam, 1993), and being a victim of such abuse can lead to a sense of helplessness, chronic fear, and social stigma, clear stressors for depressive behavior. Also, parental and even peer expectations and attitudes contribute to confusion of female adolescents and children. For instance, the cultural stereotype that girls are less adept at mathematical and technical activities, and even, in many cases, that girls are less intelligent than boys, may cause examination by intelligent girls of their position and achievement and thus may lead to depressive conditions. In a study of females, a significant correlation was found between intelligence and depressive systems, although it is not known to what extent this is caused by rejection by peers (Block, Gjerde, and Block, 1991).

Thus, it seems important to examine the factors that might lead girls to have different coping styles and to be more reactive to life changes than boys. The construction of gender stereotypes, or gender socialization, plays a central role in such sex differences. As noted above, many typical female characteristics, such as helplessness, passivity, and emotionality, are associated with depression. In stark contrast, several studies have suggested that “masculine” characteristics are associated with higher self-esteem and less depression (McGrath et al., 1991). The construction of gender identity that incorporates gender stereotypes begins even before adolescence, but may exert its greatest effect at that time, when myriad changes and social stresses converge on females. Even the sex difference in ruminative versus distractive coping styles mentioned above as a possible precursor of gender difference in depression, may emerge from the stereotypes that males are active and ignore their moods, while females are emotional and inactive (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987).

The ideas concerning the emergence of gender difference in depression in early adolescence and even in childhood assume continuity between the adolescent and adult states for well-defined reasons. Many of the challenges that are more prevalent in the lives of adolescent girls continue to be more prevalent in the lives of adult women as well. Further, since depression interferes with performance, adolescent depression may undermine opportunities for accomplishing goals; not attaining goals or performing as one wises may then carry over into possibilities for depression in adulthood because of unfulfilled expectations or desires. Finally, depressed mood may influence thinking such that negative memories and interpretations of events are more prevalent and can influence decision-making, leading to a sort of downward spiral.

Research on gender-related differences up until this point has advanced from blind belief that hormones were solely responsible to the point where the lack of knowledge and insight is accepted. The various theories, specifically the one concerning different pre-adolescent risk factors for women and subsequent exposure to stress and challenge during adolescence, are just beginning to integrate the many variables that most likely contribute to this modern phenomenon. This is important because it is unlikely that there is is only one factor, or even a small set of factors, that accounts for the emergence of gender differences in depression in early adolescence. There do appear to be many pathways to depression, and a number of biological, psychological, and social theories of depression recognize this.

However, the findings up until now have focused on Western culture, when a comparison of cultures may help to ascertain the

Graffiti in Spain: Did you know feminism is stylish?

extent to which cultural and social construction has created this clear difference in rates of depression. If it can be shown that cultures around the world do not experiences such a difference in rates of depression, the Western model can be reexamined through a cultural lens. Such an analysis of gender-related depression in other cultures would, of course, entail the further difficulty of sorting out how Western analysis necessarily alters non-Western practice simply through examination.

Another important topic for future research if whether the accepted model can help to explain both the emergence of the gender difference in depression and the emergence of gender differences in other types of “internalizing” disorders, such as anxiety and eating disorders. It seems logical that depression and these other disorders would be linked through the common cultural construction of stereotypes that is gender socialization.