Skip to main content
Hauptrubriken
CME Facharzt-Training Webinare Zeitschriften Bücher e.Medpedia Podcast
Service
Jobbörse Info & Hilfe
Fachgebiete
Anästhesiologie Allgemeinmedizin Arbeitsmedizin Augenheilkunde Chirurgie Dermatologie Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe HNO Innere Medizin Kardiologie Neurologie Onkologie und Hämatologie Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie Pädiatrie Pathologie Psychiatrie Radiologie Rechtsmedizin Urologie Zahnmedizin
Themen
Klimawandel und Gesundheit Neues aus dem Markt COVID-19 Praxis und Beruf Seltene Erkrankungen GOÄ & EBM Panorama
Sammlungen
Kasuistiken Algorithmen & Infografiken Blickdiagnosen Arthropedia FlapFinder (für Dermatochirurgen) Videos Kongressberichterstattung Medizin für Apothekerinnen und Apotheker Für Ärztinnen und Ärzte in Weiterbildung Für Medizinstudierende
Erweiterte Suche
Anmelden
nach oben
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Erschienen in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 12/2008

01.12.2008 | ORIGINAL PAPER

Gender differences in depression and anxiety across the adult lifespan: the role of psychosocial mediators

verfasst von: Liana S. Leach, Helen Christensen, Andrew J. Mackinnon, Timothy D. Windsor, Peter Butterworth

Erschienen in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Ausgabe 12/2008

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Abstract

Background

There is robust epidemiological and clinical evidence that a greater number of women than men experience depression and anxiety. This study investigated a number of socio-demographic, health and lifestyle, psychological and social factors as possible mediators for the gender difference in depression and anxiety in three cohorts (20–24, 40–44, 60–64).

Methods

Responses were from a representative, community based survey (n = 7,485) conducted in Canberra and Queanbeyan (NSW), in Australia. Depression and anxiety were measured using the self-report Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scales. The analyses initially identified gender differences in the potential mediators, followed by univariate and multivariate mediation models.

Results

The results indicated several shared mediators for depression and anxiety across the three age groups including: childhood adversity, mastery, behavioural inhibition, ruminative style, neuroticism, physical health, physical activity, and perceived interpersonal and employment problems. There was a decrease in the number of social mediators as age increased. The multivariate models accounted for gender differences in both conditions for all age groups, except for anxiety in the 20–24 years old. This suggests further important unmeasured mediators for this age group.

Conclusions

These findings add to the literature surrounding gender differences in depression and anxiety, and provide a basis for future research exploring variation in these gender disparities over the adult lifespan.
Literatur
1.
Allen NB, Barrett A, Sheeber L, Davis B (2006) Pubertal development and the emergence of the gender gap in mood disorders. In: Castle DJ, Kulkarni J, Abel KM (eds) Mood and anxiety disorders in women. Cambridge University Press, UK, pp 1–19
2.
Andrews G, Stewart G, Morris-Yates A, Holt P, Henderson S (1990) Evidence for a general neurotic syndrome. Br J Psychiatry 157:6–12PubMedCrossRef
3.
Armstrong N, Welsman JR (2006) The physical activity patterns of European youth with reference to methods of assessment. Sports Med 36(12):1067–1086PubMedCrossRef
4.
Baddeley A, Emslie H, Nimmo-Smith I (1992) Spot the word test. Thames Valley, UK
5.
Baron RM, Kenny DA (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J Pers Soc Psychol 51(6):1173–1182PubMedCrossRef
6.
7.
Bebbington P (1996) The origins of sex differences in depressive disorder: bridging the gap. Int Rev Psychiatry 8:295–332CrossRef
8.
Bird CE (1999) Gender, household labor, and psychological distress: the impact of the amount and division of housework. J Health Soc Behav 40(1):32–45PubMedCrossRef
9.
Bruce ML, Kim KM (1992) Differences in the effects of divorce on major depression in men and women. Am J Psychiatry 149(7):914–917PubMed
10.
Brugha TS, Cragg D (1990) The list of threatening experiences: the reliability and validity of a brief life events questionnaire. Acta Psychiatr Neurol Scand 82(1):77–81CrossRef
11.
Butler LD, Nolen-Hoeksema S (1994) Gender differences in responses to depressed mood in a college sample. Sex Roles 30:331–346CrossRef
12.
Carver CS, White TL (1994) Behavioural inhibition, behavioural activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: the BIS/BAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol 67:319–333CrossRef
13.
Christensen H, Jorm AF, Mackinnon AJ, Korten AE, Jacomb P, Henderson AS, Rodgers B (1999) Age differences in depression and anxiety symptoms: a structural equation modelling analysis of data from a general population sample. Psychol Med 29:325–339PubMedCrossRef
14.
Clark LA, Watson D (1991) Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. J Abnorm Psychol 100(3):316–336PubMedCrossRef
15.
Clark LA, Watson D, Mineka S (1994) Temperament, personality, and the mood and anxiety disorders. J Abnorm Psychol 103(1):103–116PubMedCrossRef
16.
Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences. Erlbaum, USA
17.
Cole SR, Hernan MA (2002) Fallibility in estimating direct effects. Int J Epidemiol 31:163–165PubMedCrossRef
18.
Davis MC, Matthews KA, Twamley EW (1999) Is life more difficult on Mars or Venus? A meta-analytic review of sex differences in major and minor life events. Ann Behav Med 21(1):83–97PubMedCrossRef
19.
Degenhardt L, Hall W, Lynskey M (2001) Alcohol, cannabis and tobacco use among Australians: a comparison of their associations with other drug use and use disorders, affective and anxiety disorders, and psychosis. Addiction 19(11):1603–1614CrossRef
20.
Degenhardt L, Lynskey M, Hall W (2000) Cohort trends in the age of initiation of drug use in Australia. Aust NZ J Public Health 24(4):421–426CrossRef
21.
Degenhardt L, Lynskey M, Hall W (2001) The relationship between cannabis use, depression and anxiety among Australian adults: findings from the national survey of mental health and well-being. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 36:219–227PubMedCrossRef
22.
Dunn AL, Trivedi MH, Kampert JB, Clark CG, Chambliss HO (2005) Exercise treatment for depression: efficacy and dose response. Am J Prev Med 28(1):1–8PubMedCrossRef
23.
Enders CK (2001) A primer on maximum likelihood algorithms available for use with missing data. Struct Equation Model 8:128–141CrossRef
24.
Eysenck SBG, Eysenck HJ, Barrett P (1985) A revised version of the psychoticism scale. Pers Individ Dif 6:21–29CrossRef
25.
Feingold A (1994) Gender differences in personality: a meta-analysis. Psychol Bull 116:429–456PubMedCrossRef
26.
Foot M, Koszycki D (2004) Gender differences in anxiety-related traits in patients with panic disorder. Depress Anxiety 20:123–130PubMedCrossRef
27.
Gagnon LM, Patten SB (2002) Major depression and its association with long-term medical conditions. Can J Psychiatry 47(2):149–152PubMed
28.
Gavranidou M, Rosner R (2003) The weaker sex? Gender and post-traumatic stress disorder. Depress Anxiety 17:130–139PubMedCrossRef
29.
de Goede M, Spruijt E, Iedema J, Meeus W (1999) How do vocational and relationship stressors and identity formation affect adolescent mental health? J Adolesc Health 25:14–20PubMedCrossRef
30.
Goldberg D, Bridges K, Duncan-Jones P, Grayson D (1988) Detecting anxiety and depression in general medical settings. Br Med J 297:897–899CrossRef
31.
Gove M, Hughes W (1979) Possible causes of the apparent sex differences in physical health. Am Sociol Rev 44(1):126–146PubMedCrossRef
32.
Henderson AS (1990) Co-occurrence of affective and cognitive symptoms: the epidemiological evidence. Dement 1:119–123CrossRef
33.
Holmes GR, Offen L, Waller G (1997) See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil: why do relatively few male victims of childhood sexual abuse receive help for abuse-related issues in adulthood? Clin Psychol Rev 17(1):69–88PubMedCrossRef
34.
Inglehart R, Norris P (2003) Rising tide: gender equality and cultural change around the world. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
35.
Jha P, Ranson MK, Nguyen SN, Yach D (2002) Estimates of global and regional smoking prevalence in 1995, by age and sex. J Am Public Health Assoc 92(6):1002–1006
36.
37.
Jorm AF (1987) Sex and age differences in depression: a quantitative synthesis of published research. Aust NZ J Psychiatry 21(1):46–53CrossRef
38.
Jorm AF (2000) Does old age reduce the risk of anxiety and depression? A review of epidemiological studies across the adult life span. Psychol Med 30:11–22PubMedCrossRef
39.
Jorm AF, Anstey KJ, Christensen H, Rodgers B (2004) Gender differences in cognitive abilities: the mediating role of health state and health habits. Intell 32:7–23CrossRef
40.
Jorm AF, Christensen H, Henderson S, Jacomb P, Korten AE, Rodgers B (2000) Predicting anxiety and depression from personality: is there a synergistic effect of neuroticism and extraversion? J Abnorm Psychol 109(1):145–149PubMedCrossRef
41.
Kendler KS (1996) Major depression and generalised anxiety disorder. same genes, (partly) different environments—revisited. Br J Psychiatry 30(Suppl):68–75
42.
Kendler KS, Karkowski LM, Prescott CA (1999) Causal relationship between stressful life events and the onset of major depression. Am J Psychiatry 156:837–841PubMed
43.
Kendler KS, Thornton LM, Gardner CO (2000) Stressful life events and previous episodes in the etiology of major depression in women: an evaluation of the “kindling” hypothesis. Am J Psychiatry 157(8):1243–1251PubMedCrossRef
44.
Kessler RC (1997) The effects of stressful life events on depression. Ann Rev Psychol 48:191–214CrossRef
45.
Kessler RC (2006) The epidemiology of depression among women. In: Keyes CLM, Goodman SH (eds) Women and depression. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 22–37
46.
Kessler RC, McLeod JD (1984) Sex differences in vulnerability to undesirable life events. Am Sociol Rev 49:620–631CrossRef
47.
Kessler RC, Nelson CB, McGonagle KA, Liu J, Swartz M, Blazer DG (1996) Comorbidity of DSM-III-R major depressive disorder in the general population: results from the US national comorbidity survey. Br J Psychiatry 30(Suppl):17–30
48.
Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Newton TL (2001) Marriage and health: his and hers. Psychol Bull 127(4):472–503PubMedCrossRef
49.
Kuehner C (2003) Gender differences in unipolar depression: an update of epidemiological findings and possible explanations. Acta Psychiatr Scand 108(3):163–174PubMedCrossRef
50.
Leach LS, Christensen H, Mackinnon AJ (2008) Gender differences in the endorsement of symptoms for depression and anxiety: are gender biased items responsible? J Nerv Ment Dis 196(2):128–135PubMed
51.
Lorant V, Croux C, Weich S, Deliege D, Mackenbach J Ansseau M (2007) Depression and socio-economic risk factors: 7-year longitudinal population study. Am J Psychiatry 190:293–298
52.
MacKinnon D, Fairchild A, Fritz (2007) Mediation analysis. Ann Rev Psychol 58:593–614CrossRef
53.
MacKinnon D, Lockwood C, Hoffman H, West S, Sheets V (2002) A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychol Med 7(1):83–104
54.
Mackinnon A, Christensen H, Jorm AF, Henderson AS, Scott R, Korten AE (1994) A latent trait analysis of an inventory designed to detect symptoms of anxiety and depression using an elderly community sample. Psychol Med 24(4):977–986PubMed
55.
Meyer TJ, Miller ML, Metzger RL, Borkovec TD (1990) Development and validation of the Penn state worry questionnaire. Behav Res Ther 8(6):487–495CrossRef
56.
Mineka S, Watson D, Clark LA (1998) Comorbidity of anxiety and unipolar mood disorders. Ann Rev Psychol 49:377–412CrossRef
57.
Murphy JM (1973) Sociocultural change and psychiatric disorder among rural Yorubas in Nigeria. Ethos 1(2):239–262CrossRef
58.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (2001) Australian alcohol guidelines: health risks and benefits. NHMRC, Canberra
59.
Nolen-Hoeksema S (1987) Sex-differences in unipolar depression—evidence and theory. Psychol Bull 101(2):259–282PubMedCrossRef
60.
Nolen-Hoeksema S (2000) The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms. J Abnorm Psychol 109(3):504–511PubMedCrossRef
61.
Nolen-Hoeksema S, Parker LE, Larson J (1994) Ruminative coping with depressed mood following loss. J Pers Soc Psychol 67(1):92–104PubMedCrossRef
62.
Paykel ES (1994) Life events, social support and depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand 89(377):50–58CrossRef
63.
Pearlin LI, Lieberman MA, Menaghan EG, Mullan JT (1981) The stress process. J Health Soc Behav 22(4):337–356PubMedCrossRef
64.
Pigott TA (1999) Gender differences in the epidemiology and treatment of anxiety disorders. J Clin Psychiatry 60(Suppl 18):4–15PubMed
65.
Post RM (1992) Transduction of psychosocial stress into the neurobiology of recurrent affective disorder. Am J Psychiatry 149(8):999–1010PubMed
66.
Preacher KJ, Hayes AF (2004) SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput 36(4):717–731PubMed
67.
Preacher KJ, Hayes AF (2008). Asymptomatic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in simple and multiple mediator models. Behav Res Methods (in press), article available at: http://​www.​psych.​ku.​edu/​preacher/​
68.
Reskin BF, Padavic I (1994) Women and men at work. Pine Forge, Thousand Oaks
69.
Rodgers B (1996) Reported parental behaviour and adult affective symptoms. Associations and moderating factors. Psychol Med 26(1):51–61PubMed
70.
Rodgers B, Korten AE, Jorm AF, Jacomb P, Christensen H, Henderson AS (2000) Non-linear relationships in associations of depression and anxiety with alcohol use. Psychol Med 30:421–432PubMedCrossRef
71.
Rosenman S, Rodgers B (2004) Childhood adversity in an Australian population. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39(9):695–702PubMedCrossRef
72.
Roxburgh S (2004) ‘There just aren’t enough hours in the day’: the mental health consequences of time pressure. J Health Soc Behav 45(2):115–131PubMedCrossRef
73.
Sallis J, Zakarian J, Hovell M, Hofstetter R (1996) Ethnic, socioeconomic, and sex differences in physical activity among adolescents. J Epidemiol 49(2):125–134
74.
Samuelsson G, McCamish-Svensson C, Hagberg B, Sundstrom G, Dehin O (2005) Incidence and risk factors for depression and anxiety disorders: results from a 34-year longitudinal Swedish cohort study. Aging Ment Health 9(6):571–575PubMedCrossRef
75.
Sandanger I, Nygård JF, Sørensen T, Moum T (2004) Is women’s mental health more susceptible than men’s to the influence of surrounding stress? Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39:177–184PubMedCrossRef
76.
Saunders JB, Aasland OG, Babor TF, de la Fuente JR, Grant M (1993) Development of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption–II. Addiction 88(6):791–804PubMedCrossRef
77.
Schuster TL, Kessler RC, Aseltine RH (1990) Supportive interactions, negative interactions, and depressed mood. Am J Community Psychol 18(3):423–438PubMedCrossRef
78.
Sobel ME (1982) Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. In: Leinhardt S (eds) Sociological methodology. American Sociological Association, Washington, pp 290–312
79.
Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Löwe B (2006) A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med 166(10):1092–1097PubMedCrossRef
80.
Sprock J, Yoder C (1997) Women and depression: an update on the report of the APA task force. Sex Roles 36:269–303CrossRef
81.
Strangler RS, Pintz AM (1980) DSM-III: psychiatric diagnosis in a university population. Am J Psychiatry 137:937–940
82.
Stroud CB, Davila J, Moyer A (2008) The relationship between stress and depression in first onsets versus recurrences: a meta-analytic review. J Abnorm Psychol 117(1):206–213PubMedCrossRef
83.
Vaux A (1985) Variations in social support associated with gender, ethnicity and age. J Soc Issues 41(1):89–110CrossRef
84.
Ware J, Kosinski M, Keller SD (1996) A 12-item short-form health survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care 34(3):220–233PubMedCrossRef
85.
Warner LA, Kessler RC, Hughes M, Anthony JC, Nelson CB (1995) Prevalence and correlates of drug use and dependence in the United States. Results from the national comorbidity survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 52(3):219–229PubMed
86.
Wechsler D (1945) A standardized memory scale for clinical use. J Psychol 19:87–95
87.
Weiss EL, Longhurst JG, Mazure CM (1999) Childhood sexual abuse as a risk factor for depression in women: psychosocial and neurobiological correlates. Am J Psychiatry 156(6):816–828PubMed
88.
Weissman MM, Klerman GL (1977) Sex differences and the epidemiology of depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 34(1):98–111PubMed
89.
Wilhelm K, Mitchell P, Slade T, Brownhill S, Andrews G (2003) Prevalence and correlates of DSM-IV major depression in an Australian national survey. J Affect Disord 75:155–162PubMedCrossRef
90.
Wilhelm K, Parker G, Hadzi-Pavlovic D (1997) Fifteen years on: evolving ideas in researching sex differences in depression. Psychol Med 27(4):875–883PubMedCrossRef
91.
Wittchen HU, Zhao S, Kessler RC, Eaton WW (1994) DSM-III-R generalized anxiety disorder in the national comorbidity survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 51(5):355–364PubMed
92.
Wolk S, Weissman M (1995) Women and depression: an update. Rev Psychiatry 14:227–259
Metadaten
Titel
Gender differences in depression and anxiety across the adult lifespan: the role of psychosocial mediators
verfasst von
Liana S. Leach
Helen Christensen
Andrew J. Mackinnon
Timothy D. Windsor
Peter Butterworth
Publikationsdatum
01.12.2008
Verlag
D. Steinkopff-Verlag
Erschienen in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Ausgabe 12/2008
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Elektronische ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0388-z

Weitere Artikel der Ausgabe 12/2008

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 12/2008 Zur Ausgabe

ORIGINAL PAPER

Status inconsistency and common mental disorders in the Israel-based world mental health survey

ORIGINAL PAPER

How to select representative geographical areas in mental health service research

ORIGINAL PAPER

Anxiety symptoms in rural Mexican adolescents

ORIGINAL PAPER

The generation gap in numbers: parent-child disagreement on youth’s emotional and behavioral problems

ERRATUM

Self-harm in the UK

ORIGINAL PAPER

Gender differences in first episode psychosis

Neu im Fachgebiet Psychiatrie

23.04.2024 | Demenz | Nachrichten

Demenzkranke durch Antipsychotika vielfach gefährdet

23.04.2024 | Depression antepartal oder postpartal | Nachrichten

Weniger postpartale Depressionen nach Esketamin-Einmalgabe

22.04.2024 | DGIM 2024 | Kongressbericht | Nachrichten

„Psychotherapie ist auch bei sehr alten Menschen hochwirksam!“

22.04.2024 | DGIM 2024 | Nachrichten

Auf diese Krankheiten bei Geflüchteten sollten Sie vorbereitet sein
weitere anzeigen

Update Psychiatrie

Bestellen Sie unseren Fach-Newsletter und bleiben Sie gut informiert.

Newsletter bestellen