Why Women Are More Depressed Than Men

[derspiess]

Evolutionary psychology is pretty close to useless.

You're just trying to encourage us to increase our investment in you!

[merithyn]

[merithyn]

From the same website:

In recent decades depression has become increasingly common in industralized countries such as the US and the UK, and is often referred to by physicians as 'the common cold of psychiatry'.

Figures for the lifetime prevalence of depression vary according to the criteria used to define depression. Using DSM-IV's criteria for 'major depressive disorder' which are similar to the ICD-10 criteria for 'moderate depression', the lifetime prevalence of depression is about 15 percent and the point prevalence about 5 percent. This means that an average person has about a one in seven (15 percent) chance of developing depression in the course of his or her lifetime, and about a 1 in 20 (5 percent) chance of suffering from it at this very point in time.

However, these figures mask a very uneven gender distribution as depression is about twice as common in women than in men. The reasons for this uneven gender distribution are not entirely clear, but are thought to be partly biological, partly psychological, and partly sociocultural.

Biological explanations

1. Compared to men, women may have a stronger genetic predisposition to developing depression.

2. Compared to men, women are much more subjected to fluctuating hormone levels. This is especially the case around the time of childbirth and at the menopause, both of which are associated with an increased risk of developing depression.

Psychological explanations

3. Women are more ruminative than men, that is, they tend to think about things more—which, though a very good thing, may also predispose them to developing depression. In contrast, men are more likely to react to difficult times with stoicicism, anger, or substance misuse.

4. Women are generally more invested in relationships than men. Relationship problems are likely to affect them more, and so they are more likely to develop depression.

Sociocultural explanations

5. Women come under more stress than men. Not only do they have to go work just like men, but they may also be expected to bear the brunt of maintaining a home, bringing up children, caring for older relatives, and putting up with all the sexism!

6. Women live longer than men. Extreme old age is often associated with bereavement, loneliness, poor physical health, and precarity—and so with depression.

7. Women are more likely to seek out a diagnosis of depression. They are more likely to consult a physician and more likely to discuss their feelings with the physician. Conversely, physicians (whether male or female) may be more likely to make a diagnosis of depression in a woman.

Perhaps you can think of some other reasons why depression is twice as common in women than in men, in which case please do let me know!

Neel Burton is author of The Meaning of Madness, The Art of Failure: The Anti Self-Help Guide, Hide and Seek: The Psychology of Self-Deception, and other books.

[Valmy]

Yeah social science is pretty boring.

Anyway mentally ill men are more likely to go on a mass shooting so advantage: women.

I have to say though aren't things like clinical depression supposed to be brain chemistry things and not based on just being in a shitty situation?

[merithyn]

Yeah social science is pretty boring.

Anyway mentally ill men are more likely to go on a mass shooting so advantage: women.

I have to say though aren't things like clinical depression supposed to be brain chemistry things and not based on just being in a shitty situation?

Well-written, well-thought out social science is intriguing and thought provoking. That article is, however, neither, and therefore rather dull. It's the same reason given during the Victorian era for why women would develop "bad airs", ie faint. Turns out that the corset had more to do with it than any manipulation factors.

I'd argue that today's "corset" is the need for women to be the responsible one in the home and at work. We're expected to keep things going at home, organize, get everyone where they need to go, etc., and at the office we're supposed to be the work horses, again making sure that all flows the way its supposed to.

But what do I know....

[LaCroix]

if a woman wants a professional career and doesn't want the added responsibility of taking care of the home, she can either (1) find a partner who will take care of those responsibilities, or (2) pay others to perform those services

[derspiess]

Boom.

[The Brain]

Women can withhold sex to get what they want. Men cannot.

[Valmy]

Turns out that the corset had more to do with it than any manipulation factors.

Well I am skeptical on the corset thing anyway. It certainly has its fans and defenders. I mean women had been performing heavy physical labor for centuries while wearing them and they were not known for their fainting spells until this particular era. But I have heard that corset construction during this era was very bad and involved some steel boning but how common was it to wear something like that? My ancestors generally made their own clothes so I cannot see them putting steel boning in their corsets. But then none of them were known to faint either

But then I have no theory as why it was decided women fainted so much during this era so maybe so.

I'd argue that today's "corset" is the need for women to be the responsible one in the home and at work. We're expected to keep things going at home, organize, get everyone where they need to go, etc., and at the office we're supposed to be the work horses, again making sure that all flows the way its supposed to.

But what do I know....

Well certainly those would be very stressful expectations. To the extent this is true or not is difficult for me to say. However again my understanding is that clinical depression is a brain chemistry issue that plagues people for no logical or rational reason.

I would be very surprised if depression was actually more prevalent in women with careers and families. But, you know, you may be right.

[Valmy]

if a woman wants a professional career and doesn't want the added responsibility of taking care of the home, she can either (1) find a partner who will take care of those responsibilities, or (2) pay others to perform those services

Easier said than done.

[derspiess]

if a woman wants a professional career and doesn't want the added responsibility of taking care of the home, she can either (1) find a partner who will take care of those responsibilities, or (2) pay others to perform those services

Easier said than done.

I guess we could just expect less productivity from women in the workplace in exchange for them doing stuff at home?

[Valmy]

if a woman wants a professional career and doesn't want the added responsibility of taking care of the home, she can either (1) find a partner who will take care of those responsibilities, or (2) pay others to perform those services

Easier said than done.

I guess we could just expect less productivity from women in the workplace in exchange for them doing stuff at home?

How about you do the dishes a bit more Spicey? How about that?

[derspiess]

How about you do the dishes a bit more Spicey? How about that?

Not sure how I can do more than 100% of them.  I guess I could throw some clean ones into the dishwasher

[merithyn]

Well I am skeptical on the corset thing anyway. It certainly has its fans and defenders. I mean women had been performing heavy physical labor for centuries while wearing them and they were not known for their fainting spells until this particular era. But I have heard that corset construction during this era was very bad and involved some steel boning but how common was it to wear something like that? My ancestors generally made their own clothes so I cannot see them putting steel boning in their corsets. But then none of them were known to faint either

But then I have no theory as why it was decided women fainted so much during this era so maybe so.

Corset construction to achieve the preferred silhouette was drastically different for women in the late 1900s than even the mid-1900s. And there was a huge difference between what was worn by middle and upper class city women than lower class or country women. I've actually got two books on this very topic, if you're interested.

Also, you'd be wrong. MOST people made their own clothes still in the late 1900s, and they did, indeed, use steel boning in their corsets. But chances are that your ancestors didn't lace them nearly as tightly as the "fashionable" women in the cities did, who also happened to be the most regular "fainters".

Well certainly those would be very stressful expectations. To the extent this is true or not is difficult for me to say. However again my understanding is that clinical depression is a brain chemistry issue that plagues people for no logical or rational reason.

I would be very surprised if depression was actually more prevalent in women with careers and families. But, you know, you may be right.

Clinical depression means that they hit specific requirements to be deemed "depressed" and not just "blue", that often shows as a difference in the brain chemistry. It can be situational (lost spouse, stressful career, etc.) or it can be innate (born with it). Anyone with depression, innate or situational, will have a different brain chemistry than someone who is not depressed.

Most studies show that working mothers are happier than SAHP, usually ascribed to a lack of measurable successes and minimal adult interactions.

[merithyn]

if a woman wants a professional career and doesn't want the added responsibility of taking care of the home, she can either (1) find a partner who will take care of those responsibilities, or (2) pay others to perform those services

Agreed. And women with partners who are equal partners in the decision-making, household chores, and otherwise act as adults instead of expecting their wives to drive the bus 24-7 are generally happier.

Of course, anecdotally, there are more women looking for that type of partner than there are partners willing to be equal partners with their wives.