Sex differences and adolescent depression.

This study investigates the role of certain psychosocial variables—sex, age, body image/self-esteem, self-consciousness, stressful life events, and the degree to which an individual identifies with the cultural stereotype of masculinity—as correlates and antecedents to depression in adolescents and explores possible intraindividual mediators of the stress–depression relationship in adolescents. A battery of self-report measures was administered to public high school students in Grades 9–12 in their classrooms at two different times 1 month apart. Female adolescents reported more depressive symptoms, self-consciousness, stressful recent events, feminine attributes, and negative body image and self-esteem; no age effects were obtained. Results suggest a model of adolescent depression in which body image/self-esteem and stressful recent events are significant contributors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Two studies examined sex differences in responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortical axis, a major component of the stress response. The first measured pituitary-adrenal responses to ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone (oCRH) in 24 healthy men and 19 healthy women. Plasma adrenocorticotropin hormone responses to oCRH were significantly greater among women than among men. In contrast, cortisol concentrations were similar in both groups, though elevations were more prolonged in women. Differences in corticotropin-releasing activity between men and women may help account for these findings; such differences in central components of the stress response might play a role in the known epidemiological differences in diseases of stress system dysregulation between men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in psychotherapy with older people.

Examines sex-related differences in late-middle and old age that influence the initiation, process, and goals of psychotherapy with older patients. These differences include demographic characteristics, responses to health problems and physical changes, psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, and strengths. Possible barriers to these therapeutic goals and implications of historical shifts in sex roles in society are discussed. (68 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences and self-report of fear: A psychophysiological assessment.

Hypothesized that, because of differential social learning, females would report fear of spiders more frequently than males would but that males selected for equal self-report of fear would show greater autonomic responsivity than females to slides of spiders. Four groups of 10 undergraduates each (male and female fearful and nonfearful) were assembled. They were told to wait quietly for 10 min, after which they would see slides of tarantulas. Skin conductance level was measured during the anticipatory period and in response to each of the slides. Results confirm the hypothesis that more women would report fear than men but failed to confirm the hypothesis that there would be differential autonomic responding. Fearful Ss, irrespective of sex, showed prolonged autonomic arousal during the entire anticipatory period, whereas nonfearful Ss showed increasing autonomic arousal as the time for the 1st slide presentation approached. This finding is discussed in terms of coping theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in coping styles and implications for depressed mood.

Based on a sample of young adults in Miami-Dade County, Florida, this paper examined the extent to which there were sex differences in 3 coping style types: problem focused, emotion focused, and avoidance focused (Endler & Parker, 1990). Further examined were the extent to which sex differences in coping styles could be explained by sex differences in chronic strain; the extent to which sex differences in depressed mood could be explained by sex differences in coping style; and whether the effects of different coping style types on depressed mood varied by sex. Results suggested somewhat complex relationships among sex, coping, chronic strain, and depression. No sex differences in the use of problem-focused coping were observed when statistical controls for socioeconomic status were applied; however, women more often used avoidance-focused techniques. Although female respondents more often used emotion-oriented strategies compared to male respondents, such use did not prove to be fundamentally harmful for women. In fact, the effects of using emotion-focused strategies, such as the expression of feelings, reduced depressed mood for women, but not for men. Implications for practice and policy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex roles and gender differences in the experience of depression.

Studied sex differences and sex role correlates of depressive experiences in 82 female and 39 male college students. Gender differences in depressive experiences were found. These differences were consistent with societal sex role expectations. The level of depression on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was negatively associated with sex role congruence, as assessed by the Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire, scored for Competency and Warmth–Expressiveness. Degree of sex role congruence within the male and female samples was also associated with different depressive experiences on the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire. The sex differences and the different intrasex correlations indicated that experiences of depression are associated with different facets of sex role stereotypes. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory.

A large body of evidence indicates that women are more likely than men to show unipolar depression. Five classes of explanations for these sex differences are examined and the evidence for each class is reviewed. Not one of these explanations adequately accounts for the magnitude of the sex differences in depression. Finally, a response set explanation for the sex differences in depression is proposed. According to this explanation, men are more likely to engage in distracting behaviors that dampen their mood when depressed, but women are more likely to amplify their moods by ruminating about their depressed states and the possible causes of these states. Regardless of the initial source of a depressive episode (i.e., biological or psychological) men's more active responses to their negative moods may be more adaptive on average than women's less active, more ruminative responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in stimulus intensity modulation and its relationship to two styles of depression in older adults.

Research comparing depressive persons with and without manic symptoms shows striking parallels with differences between augmenters and reducers on the Kinesthetic Aftereffect (KAE) task (A. Petrie, 1967). Twenty-three community-dwelling older adults identified by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (S. R. Hathaway & J. C. McKinley, 1951) as depressive without manic symptoms were compared with 24 older adults with manic symptoms on the KAE, the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1985), and Strelau (J. Strelau, 1983) Temperament Inventory. As hypothesized, augmentation was related to depression without manic symptoms, and reduction was related to depression with manic symptoms. Stepwise discriminant analyses indicated that the KAE is a potent discriminator between the 2 types of depression. Three characteristics of Strelau's "strength of nervous system"—excitation, and inhibition and mobility—discriminate significantly between the 2 groups as well as NEO extraversion and conscientiousness. Results suggest that older depressive persons with and without manic symptoms may benefit from different therapeutic interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Readability of self-report depression inventories.

Reading grade levels were obtained for 10 depression scales (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory) using 2 empirically based readability formulae, one by R. Gunning (1952) and the other by R. F. Flesch (1949). Results suggest that most of the scales are appropriate for use with both adolescents and adult patients who have attained 9th-grade-level reading skills. The limitations of empirical estimates of readability are discussed, and it is noted that comprehension could be influenced by contextual variables such as scale format. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive symptom differences in hospitalized, medically ill, depressed psychiatric inpatients and nonmedical controls.

This study compared depressive and anxious symptoms in chronic medically ill individuals and depressed psychiatric inpatients using conceptually based standardized measures of cognitions and symptoms. Seventy-five hospitalized medical patients, 52 depressed psychiatric inpatients, and 25 normal controls were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire, Hamilton Rating Scales of Anxiety and Depression, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales, Beck Depression Inventory, Cognitions Checklist, and Hopelessness Scale. Analysis revealed that depression in medical patients was best distinguished by symptoms of anhedonia, low positive affect, and physiological hyperarousal, whereas syndromal depression in psychiatric inpatients was specifically characterized by negative cognition symptoms. Implications are discussed for assessing depression in medically ill populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Susceptibility and precipitating factors in depression: Sex differences and similarities.

Argues that the well-documented sex difference in depression may be due to a sex difference in susceptibility, in precipitating factors, or in both. Data from a large mental health survey (2,515 White over-18 residents of 2 cities) were used to study precipitating factors. It was found that women were exposed more often to more of the factors that relate to depression; with a few exceptions, the factors related to depression similarly for men and women. Matching on these factors did not eliminate the sex difference in depression. This suggests that there may be a sex difference in susceptibility. Current theories of depression are incorporated into a sequential model of how learned factors might contribute both to susceptibility and to the sex difference. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral effects of tricyclic drugs in depressed inpatients.

Developed a bivariate model of response to antidepressant tricyclic medication and psychosocial interventions and conducted a test of the drug-response aspect of this model, using objectively defined nonpathognomonic behaviors. Repeated measures ANOVA and interrupted time-series analyses were used to test whether tricyclics affected different constellations of behavior in 30 depressed inpatients. Results show that drug interventions increased the frequencies of activity-related behaviors only; however, positive clinical response was related to elevated levels of both activity-related and interpersonal behaviors. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Heterogeneity of cognitive style among depressed inpatients.

An inference from the cognitive theories of depression is that only a subset of depressed individuals should exhibit distinctively negative cognitive styles. Although this inference has been supported by previous research, attempts to characterize these depressives have yielded few identifying variables. This study of psychiatric inpatients and normal control subjects identified several characteristics of depressives with very negative cognitive styles by (a) examining traditional depression subtypes, (b) grouping depressives on the basis of clinical observations, and (c) asking whether sex, developmental events, and history and severity of depression predict cognitive styles. We found that borderline personality disorder, negative family dynamics during childhood, a history of sexual abuse, and severity of depression predict cognitive styles. We speculate that aversive developmental events may contribute to cognitive vulnerability to depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for posttraumatic stress disorder: An evaluation of two self-report scales among crime victims.

The validity of the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptom Scale, Self-Report version (PSS-SR) was examined among crime victims. Both instruments performed well as screeners for PTSD. For the IES, sensitivity ranged between .93 and 1.00; for the PSS-SR, sensitivity ranged between .80 and .90. Specificity for the IES ranged between .78 and .84 and for the PSS-SR ranged between .84 and .88. Some individual items from the 2 scales performed just as well as the total scales. The authors conclude that either of these short self-report instruments or their individual items are suitable as screeners for PTSD, specifically in settings where mental health professionals are unavailable. Cross-validation of these results is necessary because of the small sample size in this study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in influenceability.

Examines the hypothesis that women are more influenceable than men in a variety of situations. For persuasion research and for conformity studies not involving group pressure, there is scant empirical support for a sex difference, and for group pressure conformity research, there is support among a substantial minority of studies. Also explored is the possibility that various sex differences in social influence studies are a product of contextual features of experimental settings. This is suggested by the fact that findings reporting greater influenceability among females were more prevalent in studies published prior to 1970 than in those published in the 1970s. Finally, sex differences in various psychological processes that may mediate persuasion and conformity are evaluated as possible explanations for those influenceability sex differences that appear to be genuine. It is suggested that a propensity to yield inherent in the female sex role appears to account for some aspects of influenceability findings, but a 2nd explanation, a tendency for women more than men to be oriented to interpersonal goals in group settings, is also plausible. (7? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selection of depressed and nondepressed subjects on the basis of self-report data.

Investigated whether an increase in accurate classifications could be obtained by using 2 simultaneously administered self-report measures or by several successive administrations of 1 self-report measure. 568 Ss (mean age 39.5 yrs) participated in the study. This hypothesis was supported, but the obtained increase was only moderate. A 2-stage procedure for selecting depressed Ss is recommended. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detecting depression in elderly medical inpatients.

Prevalence rates for depression indicate that elderly medical patients are a population at high risk. Studies of middle-aged adults show that detection of depression in medical patients by primary health care providers is poor and that screening instruments can improve detection, although little is known about geriatric patients. The present study used Research Diagnostic Criteria to assess the base rate of detection by nonpsychiatric physicians in a random sample of 150 elderly medical inpatients. In addition, the psychometric properties of three slightly different self-report screening instruments were evaluated. Results indicated that detection by house staff was extremely low (8.7%). All three instruments were much more sensitive, were equally specific, and yielded greater predictive power than the procedures used by hospital staff. All three instruments were especially sensitive to major depression. Of the scales, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the BDI Psychological subscale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale had the best reliability and validity and were the most efficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the allocation of pay.

Examined the possibility that relative to males, females perceive less of a connection between their work and monetary rewards. In Study 1, 66 females and 60 males (respondents to an advertisement in a student newspaper) determined either their own pay or the pay of another person. Results support the hypothesis in that females paid themselves less than did males and less than other people (males or females) paid females. Results also suggest that Ss were more generous when they paid females. In Study 2, sex differences in self-pay were examined in 80 1st-, 4th-, 7th-, and 10th-grade Ss. Results replicate those of Study 1, in that at every grade level, females paid themselves less than did males. In addition, the extent to which females allocated pay the way their male counterparts did was highly related to the masculinity of their career goals. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Readability of self-report measures of depression and anxiety.

As the demand for accountability in service provision settings increases, the need for valid methods for assessing clinical outcomes is of particular importance. Self-report measures of functioning are particularly useful in the assessment of psychological functioning, but a vital factor in their validity and transportability is the reading level needed to comprehend them. We evaluated the reading grade levels required to comprehend the instructions and items from 105 evidence-based self-report measures of depression and anxiety. Results indicated substantial variability in readability among measures, with anxiety measures generally requiring a higher reading level relative to depression measures. In some cases, reading levels required for measure instructions were particularly high, and most measures were written at or above the mean reading grade level in the United States. This analysis provides information that may aid in selecting appropriate symptom measures in clinical and research settings. Future directions, including the development of measures for individuals with low levels of literacy, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)