Gender Difference in Depression  

Stressful experiences can sensitize both biological and psychological system to more stress and make it more likely for individuals to react badly with depression 

 

Man and Woman's reaction with stressful life events 

 

Victimization 

• Woman are more prone to sexual assault and this can increase the rate of depression ( Weiss, Longhurst, & Mazure, 1999 )

• Between 7 and 19% of females and 3 to 7% males ( Cutler & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991)

Chronic Strains 

• Woman face many chronic burden every day due to their social status and roles in relation with men 

• Woman are left with a full-time job and the responsibility to taking care of the child and elderly parents. 

Gender Intensification in Adolescence 

• Girls are pressured into certain gender roles as kids

Reactivity to Stress 

• Woman cope and react to stress differently to stress than men.​

Biological Responses to Stress

• Focused on the roles of hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenaline ( HPA) 

• A hypothesis suggested that woman are more likely than men to have a deregulated HP A response to stress, which makes them more likely to develop depression in response to stress (Weiss et al., 1999).

Self-Concepts

• Girls have poorer self-concepts than boys.

• negative self-concepts could contribute directly to depresssion, and could interact with stressors to contribute to depression. 

Coping Style 

• By adolescence, girls appear to be more likely than boys to respond to stress and distress with rumination—focusing inward on feelings of distress and personal concerns rather than taking action to relieve their distress