[Development and Preliminary Validation of a Gender-Sensitive Depression Screening (GSDS)]

Development of a gender sensitive depression screening (GSDS) to better identify depression in men.

The scale was evaluated in a sample of 1020 German university students. To prove the external validity with respect to depressivity and normative masculinity, the shortform of the General Depression Scale and the German version of the Male Role Norms Scale were used.

Exploratory factor analyses resulted in a six-factor solution. Factors referring to stress perception, aggressiveness, depressive symptoms and emotional suppression turned out as equally relevant. Sensitivity (86 %) and specifity (78 %) indicate sufficient discriminant validity. Compared to the General Depression Scale, the GSDS is able to identify more men at risk for depression.

The GSDS-26 is a preliminary validated multidimensional scale for better identifying depression in men and may be suitable for routine use after further validation.