Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Mental Health Depression

Masculinity may have a protective effect against the development of depression — even for women

by Eric W. Dolan
August 22, 2021
in Depression

[Subscribe to PsyPost on YouTube to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Women and men who strongly endorse masculine traits are less susceptible to depressive symptoms compared to their less masculine counterparts, according to new research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders that examined 40 years of evidence. The findings could help explain why women face a greater risk of depression.

“The idea for this study began in 2007. Since then, our team has published a series of work referring to sex differences in emotional susceptibility and found that women are more sensitive to emotionally negative stimuli than men,” said study author Hong Li, a professor at South China Normal University and director of the Chinese Psychological Society.

“We inferred that this may be an important mechanism for the gender difference in the prevalence of depression, as women are almost twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. Therefore, we asked whether girls/women suffer from high-risk depression just because of their biological sex? We searched for answers from the past literature and found that psycho-social gender (e.g., gender role) might be an effective indicator of predicting depression susceptibility, even more accurate than biological sex, because personal emotions are easily affected by social factors.”

To examine this further, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis using 58 peer-reviewed studies published between 1978 and 2021 that included measures of depressive symptoms and gender roles.

“Given the number of studies about gender roles and depression has increased significantly over the past 40 years, and the gender role issues might have changed over time and/or vary by nation, my co-authors and I decided to systematically re-evaluate depression’s relationship with gender roles and to determine the potential moderating factors,” Li explained.

Most of the studies assessed masculinity and femininity using the Bem Sex Role Inventory or the Personality Attributes Questionnaire. Both scientific surveys have a similar format: Participants are shown a list of traits (such as “affectionate” and “independent”) and are asked to indicate how well each item describes them.

Li and his colleagues found a robust negative relationship between masculinity and depression among both men and women. In other words, individuals with high levels of masculine traits experienced lower levels of depressive symptoms compared to individuals with lower levels of masculinity. The researchers also found a weak negative relationship between feminine traits and depressive symptoms, particularly among those of higher education and those living in countries with a higher national income.

Those with high levels of both masculine and feminine traits (androgynous) were the least at risk of depressive symptoms.

“The main findings suggest that androgynous gender role traits can protect against depression, regardless of sex and age,” Li told PsyPost. “To be specific, both female and male individuals who strongly endorse masculine traits (e.g., stands up well, never give up, active, and decisive) are less susceptible to depression, and feminine traits (e.g., warm, tender, gentle, affectionate, sympathetic, and understanding) may also allow them to benefit from social support as protective factors for depression.”

“Conversely, conformity to traditional and typical gender role norms (i.e., boys/men should be strong but not warm; while girls/women should be understanding but not active) may promote distress and some mental disorders, particularly depression. Accordingly, the development of individual androgynous traits is expected to be an effective process to reduce the global prevalence of depression and gender disparity.”

“Given that gender differences in depression start to emerge during adolescence, a stronger focus on effective educational activities (including K-12 education, community, and family) should be implemented to promote and encourage androgynous gender role traits before people enter colleges and even across the life-span,” Li added.

The researchers analyzed responses from thousands of participants from around the world. But the majority of studies were conducted in highly developed countries, such as the United States, “so that results of this review may be hard to generalize to other developing nations and economically disadvantaged countries or regions,” Li said. “Additionally, participants in most of the selected studies were college students, while a relatively small number of studies contained children, adolescents, and older adults.”

“Furthermore, only one study focused on depressed patients on this topic, which may not be very convincing evidence for clinical samples like patients with physical and/ or mental disorders,” he added. “Thus, in this review, associations between gender role and depression have been understudied in terms of the age range (especially middle-aged adults) and clinical populations, which requires further investigation.”

The study, “Does gender role explain a high risk of depression? A meta-analytic review of 40 years of evidence“, was authored by Jingyuan Lin, Liye Zou, Wuji Lin, Benjamin Becker, Albert Yeung, Pim Cuijpers, and Hong Li.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin16Send

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

Harsh mothers more likely to have poor executive functioning and interpret others’ behavior as hostile

Machiavellianism most pronounced in students of politics and law, least pronounced in students of social work, nursing and education

Psychedelic treatment linked to substantial reduction in alcohol misuse and PTSD symptoms in US Special Operations Forces Veterans

Surprising link between exercise and negative memory bias discovered

Upward comparison on social media harms body image, self-esteem, and psychological well-being

Toxoplasma gondii parasite infection linked to cognitive deterioration in schizophrenia

RECENT

Scientists find that people use emojis to hide, as well as show, their feelings

Maladaptive personality traits can lead to social rejection via problematic love styles, study suggests

Psychedelic treatment linked to substantial reduction in alcohol misuse and PTSD symptoms in US Special Operations Forces Veterans

Upward comparison on social media harms body image, self-esteem, and psychological well-being

Study finds male heterosexuality is more precarious than women’s regardless of race

Machiavellianism most pronounced in students of politics and law, least pronounced in students of social work, nursing and education

Longitudinal study finds no evidence heavier smartphone use results from or triggers heightened stress

LGB individuals do not have better auditory “gaydar” compared to heterosexuals, study finds

Currently Playing

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Social Psychology
People with dark personality traits are better at finding novel ways to cause damage or harm others

People with dark personality traits are better at finding novel ways to cause damage or harm others

Dark Triad
Exercising in nature produces psychological benefits and measurable changes in brain activity

Exercising in nature produces psychological benefits and measurable changes in brain activity

Cognitive Science
People with social anxiety tend to engage in restrictive “safety behaviors” that make them less likable, study finds

People with social anxiety tend to engage in restrictive “safety behaviors” that make them less likable, study finds

Anxiety
Study helps untangle the complicated relationship between psychopathy and emotional awareness

Study helps untangle the complicated relationship between psychopathy and emotional awareness

Psychopathy
People exposed to phubbing by their romantic partner are less satisfied with their romantic relationship

People exposed to phubbing by their romantic partner are less satisfied with their romantic relationship

Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.