Display options
Cite
Platt JM, Bates LM, Jager J, et al. Changes in the depression gender gap from 1992 to 2014: Cohort effects and mediation by gendered social position. Soc Sci Med. 2020;258:113088doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113088.
Platt, J. M., Bates, L. M., Jager, J., McLaughlin, K. A., & Keyes, K. M. (2020). Changes in the depression gender gap from 1992 to 2014: Cohort effects and mediation by gendered social position. Social science & medicine (1982), 258113088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113088
Platt, Jonathan M, et al. "Changes in the depression gender gap from 1992 to 2014: Cohort effects and mediation by gendered social position." Social science & medicine (1982) vol. 258 (2020): 113088. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113088
Platt JM, Bates LM, Jager J, McLaughlin KA, Keyes KM. Changes in the depression gender gap from 1992 to 2014: Cohort effects and mediation by gendered social position. Soc Sci Med. 2020 Aug;258:113088. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113088. Epub 2020 May 30. PMID: 32540513; PMCID: PMC7377349.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Soc Sci Med. 2020 Aug;258:113088. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113088. Epub 2020 May 30.

Changes in the depression gender gap from 1992 to 2014: Cohort effects and mediation by gendered social position.

Social science & medicine (1982)

Jonathan M Platt, Lisa M Bates, Justin Jager, Katie A McLaughlin, Katherine M Keyes

Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  2. Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
  3. Department of Psychology Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
  4. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

PMID: 32540513 PMCID: PMC7377349 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113088

Abstract

The depression gap (i.e., higher rates of depression among women than men) represents an important mental health disparity in the US. Differences in gendered social position (i.e., the roles, responsibilities, and opportunities available to women and men), which have been changing since the mid-20th Century may contribute to this gender gap. The present study examined the evidence for a changing depression gap across birth cohorts and tested the extent to which any changes over time were mediated by changes in relative social position between women and men. Data were from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The depression gap was defined as differences in mean CESD scores for women vs. men. The analytic sample included 13,666 respondents interviewed from 1992 to 2014. Hierarchical mixed models estimated the magnitude of the gender depression gap over time, its association with 10-year birth cohort (range: 1957-1994), and whether any variation was mediated by ratios among women relative to men of obtaining a college degree, being employed full-time, and the average number of hours spent doing housework per week, three indicators of gendered social position. There was a linear decrease in the depression gap by 0.18 points across birth cohort (95% CI = -0.26, -0.10). The results of the mediation analysis estimated that an increasing ratio of college degree attainment mediated 39% of the gender depression gap across cohorts (95% CI = 0.18, 0.78). There was no evidence of mediation due to changing employment or housework ratios. These findings partially support the hypothesis that the depression gap is changing over time and is meaningfully related to the social environment. Understanding the social causes of the depression gap can illuminate the fundamental processes through which depression disparities may be perpetuated or attenuated over time and may aid in the identification of strategies to reduce them.

Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: Cohort effects; Depression; Disparities; Gender; Social position; Time trends; United States

References

  1. Psychol Methods. 2010 Dec;15(4):309-34 - PubMed
  2. Psychol Aging. 1997 Jun;12(2):277-87 - PubMed
  3. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2014 Jul;48(7):606-16 - PubMed
  4. Psychol Bull. 2017 Aug;143(8):783-822 - PubMed
  5. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1980 Feb;37(2):209-21 - PubMed
  6. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1986 Feb;73(2):113-27 - PubMed
  7. J Affect Disord. 1993 Oct-Nov;29(2-3):85-96 - PubMed
  8. J Abnorm Psychol. 2012 Feb;121(1):282-8 - PubMed
  9. Demography. 2006 Feb;43(1):1-24 - PubMed
  10. Electron Int J Time Use Res. 2015 Dec;12(1):169-173 - PubMed
  11. Soc Sci Med. 2010 Apr;70(7):1100-8 - PubMed
  12. J Abnorm Psychol. 2000 May;109(2):345-51 - PubMed
  13. J Health Soc Behav. 2007 Mar;48(1):16-32 - PubMed
  14. Psychol Med. 1997 Sep;27(5):1101-19 - PubMed
  15. Am J Epidemiol. 2003 Jan 15;157(2):98-112 - PubMed
  16. Psychol Methods. 2000 Mar;5(1):44-63 - PubMed
  17. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 Dec;50(12):1485-94 - PubMed
  18. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009 Mar;105(4):595-606 - PubMed
  19. J Abnorm Psychol. 1991 Nov;100(4):569-82 - PubMed
  20. Brain Behav Immun. 2004 May;18(3):281-90 - PubMed
  21. SSM Popul Health. 2017 Nov 10;4:71-75 - PubMed
  22. Dev Psychopathol. 2013 May;25(2):527-43 - PubMed
  23. J Health Soc Behav. 1994 Jun;35(2):179-91 - PubMed
  24. J Aging Health. 2019 Jan;31(1):37-66 - PubMed
  25. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58067 - PubMed
  26. J Clin Epidemiol. 1989;42(4):333-43 - PubMed
  27. Perspect Biol Med. 2003 Summer;46(3 Suppl):S9-23 - PubMed
  28. Clin Psychol Sci. 2014 Mar;2(2):119-137 - PubMed
  29. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013 Sep;48(9):1519-26 - PubMed
  30. J Health Soc Behav. 1980 Jun;21(2):100-24 - PubMed
  31. Soc Sci Med. 2016 Jan;149:1-8 - PubMed
  32. PLoS One. 2016 May 16;11(5):e0155431 - PubMed
  33. J Affect Disord. 1993 Oct-Nov;29(2-3):145-58 - PubMed
  34. J Clin Epidemiol. 2000 Mar 1;53(3):285-9 - PubMed
  35. Psychol Bull. 2001 Jul;127(4):472-503 - PubMed
  36. Dev Psychol. 2015 Jul;51(7):962-74 - PubMed
  37. J Affect Disord. 1994 Jan;30(1):15-26 - PubMed
  38. J Abnorm Psychol. 1993 Feb;102(1):110-20 - PubMed
  39. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1994 Jan;51(1):8-19 - PubMed
  40. J Health Soc Behav. 1981 Dec;22(4):337-56 - PubMed
  41. J Health Soc Behav. 1999 Mar;40(1):32-45 - PubMed
  42. J Affect Disord. 1993 Oct-Nov;29(2-3):77-84 - PubMed
  43. Psychol Assess. 2004 Dec;16(4):360-72 - PubMed
  44. Am Sociol Rev. 1981 Aug;46(4):443-52 - PubMed
  45. Pediatrics. 2016 Dec;138(6): - PubMed
  46. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999 Nov;77(5):1061-72 - PubMed
  47. J Abnorm Psychol. 2002 Nov;111(4):578-88 - PubMed
  48. Psychol Bull. 1987 Mar;101(2):259-82 - PubMed

MeSH terms

Publication Types

Grant support