Women and Depression
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Throughout their lifetimes, 20 percent of American women have experienced at least one episode of depression. Some researchers estimated that the incidence of depression in females aged from mid-adolescence to adulthood is as high as two or three to one (Compas, Ey, & Grant, 1993, cited in Broderick & Korteland, 2002). More precisely, the rapid increase in the incidence rates of depression in females, vis-a-vis their male counterparts, has been found to begin between the ages of 13 and 15 (Wichstrom, 1999, cited in Broderick & Korteland, 2002). These research findings about the high incidence of depression in females from mid-adolescence onwards illuminate an interesting correlation between gender and depression that should be further investigated. Therefore, in this paper, existing psychological research will be examined to identify and discuss underlying factors that have contributed to the development of this phenomenon. These factors include: gender role expectations, socialization, social devaluation of women, motherhood and single parenting. Moreover, women's capacity to cope with life stressors and counteract their depressive effects through their mastery, along with peer and family networks, will also be considered. A comparison of the similarities and the differences of depression experienced by young and older women will also be conducted and analyzed. According to Broderick and Korteland's (2002) review of various research studies, girls from early adoles
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women in society, they still constitute a socially devalued group. Due to the gender role expectations that cast females in passive compliant positions, in contrast to their assertive and independent male counterparts, females have been to found to have lower personal self-esteem than boys from early adolescence onwards (Tashakkori, 1993, cited in Katz et al., 2002). Even for individual women who possess high personal self-esteem, their membership in a devalued social group in which they are considered to be exceptions, can be extremely frustrating. Finally, females who have been socialized to behave in accordance with their feminine roles and society's expectations may adopt excessive "feminine" traits of kindness and caring for other, which lead to self-neglect. Because of their tendency to be overly involved in the well-being of others, women are thus at high risk of emotional distress (Katz et al., 2002).
To test this theoretical model, Katz et al. (2002) utilized a series of survey instruments to examine the relationship between membership in the devalued group of women and depression among college undergraduates with ages ranging from 18 to 25. First of all, Katz et al. (2002) found that participants with low levels o
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Approximate Word count = 2182
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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