Unpacking the Gender Differences on Mental Health: The Effects of Optimism and Gratitude

Mental health studies show that women are likely to score higher on subjective well-being and higher on depression than men. To verify this, the present study collected a sample of 5648 undergraduates in 55 universities in China. Results showed that women reported higher optimism, gratitude, subjective well-being, and depression than men, and that optimism and gratitude mediated the relationship between gender and mental health (subjective well-being and depression). By its implication, women were more likely to be optimistic and grateful, and as such they tended to experience higher subjective well-being and depression simultaneously. This also implies that gender differences on mental health could also be a dispositional issue as well as a socialization one.