The emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence.

There are no gender differences in depression rates in prepubescent children, but, after the age of 15, girls and women are about twice as likely to be depressed as boys and men. In this article, 3 models for how gender differences in depression might develop in early adolescence are described and evaluated. According to Model I, the causes of depression are the same for girls and boys, but these causes become more prevalent in girls than in boys in early adolescence. According to Model 2, there are different causes of depression in girls and boys, and the causes of girls' depression become more prevalent than the causes of boys' depression in early adolescence. According to Model 3, girls are more likely than boys to carry risk factors for depression even before early adolescence, but these risk factors lead to depression only in the face of challenges that increase in prevalence in early adolescence. Evidence for the variables most commonly thought to contribute to gender differences in depression in children and adolescents is reviewed, and this evidence is related to the 3 models for how these differences develop. It is concluded that Model 3 is best supported by the available data, although much more research is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)