Gender and depression: assessing exposure and vulnerability to life events in a chronically strained population

It has been suggested that higher levels of distress among women may be partially a function of their nurturant roles. Role-related differences in exposure and/or responsiveness to events occurring to network members are hypothesized to represent a "cost of caring" for women that translates into elevated levels of depressive symptoms. This paper examines the significance for depressive symptoms of gender differences in exposure and vulnerability to eventful stress among a sample of physically disabled subjects. This sample provides an opportunity to more fully assess the relevance of employment for understanding gender differences in depression. Our results indicate that men and women are equally exposed and equally vulnerable to life events occurring to themselves. However, we found women to be both more exposed and more vulnerable to events occurring to others. When labor force participation is taken into account, dramatic gender differences are revealed in the apparent significance of employment for exposure and vulnerability to various kinds of stressful events. The implications of these findings for public health interventions are discussed.