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Related Experiment Videos

Age and the gender gap in depression

J Mirowsky1

  • 1Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1353, USA. mirowsky.l@osu.edu

Journal of Health and Social Behavior
|December 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

The gender gap in depression widens in adulthood due to unequal adult statuses. This study supports the gender stratification hypothesis, explaining increased depression differences between women and men over time.

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Area of Science:

  • Sociology
  • Psychiatry
  • Gender Studies

Background:

  • Women exhibit higher average depression levels than men.
  • The gender gap in depression is hypothesized to increase during adulthood.
  • Unequal adult statuses are proposed as a contributing factor to this disparity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the gender stratification hypothesis regarding the widening gender gap in depression.
  • To examine how age, marital status, employment, domestic labor, childcare, and economic strain influence depression differences.
  • To investigate the differential changes in depression rates between genders over the lifespan.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of three datasets, including two national U.S. samples.
  • Examination of depression levels across different age groups.
  • Assessment of the mediating roles of social and economic factors.

Main Results:

  • Support for the age increment hypothesis: depression differences increase with age.
  • Support for the status mediation hypothesis: social and economic factors explain the larger gap in middle adulthood.
  • Support for the differential change hypothesis: women's depression decreases slower than men's in early adulthood.

Conclusions:

  • The gender gap in depression grows in adulthood, driven by unequal adult statuses.
  • Social roles and economic factors significantly mediate the observed gender differences in depression.
  • Lifespan developmental trajectories contribute to the persistent and widening gender disparity in depression.

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