Introduction
Depression is a major health concern across the world and it is considered to be one of the illnesses causing problems for individuals, families, and the society. Depression is said to be one of the conditions that increases the mortality of medical conditions and decreases the quality of life (Ryba & Hopko, 2012). A number of studies have attempted to find the relationship between depressive symptoms and factors like age, gender, and income level. The following paper evaluates the position held by other papers with regard to the hypothesis, men are more prone to depression in comparison to women.
Literature Review
A study by Addis (2008) agrees with the hypothesis formulated in this paper. Addis found that there are four frameworks that can be used to explain the role of gender, particularly in how men respond and express depression. The sex framework is based on the assumption that depression exists in both men and women but with minor variations of the illness with gender; two differences are documented. Firstly, men are less likely than women to show their depressed mood and are likely to find something to distract them. Secondly, men are not likely to seek professional help. The masked depression framework is based on the differences in how men respond and express depression as linked to their socialization practices. Research shows that men, when depressed, have difficulty identifying this and the problem remains masked. The masculine depression framework explains the need for boys and men to meet the masculine standards set by the society and their need to cope with problems of depression adaptively when problems arise. The gendered responding framework assumes that masculinity is an influencing factor in how men respond to depression and the negative factors like depressed mood, sadness, and grief (Addis, 2008). The response has a great influence on the severity of depression episodes and the period they last.
A study by Akhtar-Danesh and Landeen (2007) explains the different sociodemographic factors that can be used to distinguish depression symptoms. The factors include age, gender, marital status, education and level of income. The study disagrees with the hypothesis of this paper since it found that women are more likely to exhibit and suffer from depression symptoms. A study by Davila et al. (2014) evaluated the relationship between gender, depressive symptoms, and unhealthy ways to lose weight. The research found that gender was not related to depressive symptoms but unhealthy weight loss practices were. A study on the gender differences associated with depressive symptoms in adolescence found that there was no significant difference in the symptoms in different genders in terms of appearance and the intensity of the symptoms (Galambos, Leadbeater, & Barker, 2004). The study showed a high rate of girls having overweight issues experiencing depression symptoms. A different study by Ryba and Hopko (2012) found that the gender differences in depression are as a result of certain behaviors in these genders. Males are said to engage in active behaviors like sexual, physical, and recreational based events. The females, on the other hand, spend more time in activities like spiritual and religious matters.
Methods Section
Participants
The study will select a sample of participants that is intended to generalize the population being researched. As such, the sample will randomly select participants of different ages with at least 40 participants being between the ages of 20 and 30 and another 40 participants being between the ages of 30 and 40. Half of the participants will be male and the other female. Having selected such a sample, the research is more likely to get results that would be used to generalize the reality for a high percentage of the population. The inclusion factors will include people of different economic and educational levels. The research will, however, not include people who have suffered from other mental conditions like schizophrenia.
Instruments and Procedure
Ethical Issues
References
Addis, M. E. (2008). Gender and Depression in Men. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 15(3), 153-168. Retrieved from http://www.economicgeography.org/faculty/addis/menswellbeing/pdfs/genderanddepressioninmen.pdf
Akhtar-Danesh, N., & Landeen, J. (2007). Relation between depression and sociodemographic factors. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 1(4), 1-9. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2241832/pdf/1752-4458-1-4.pdf
Davila, E. P., Kolodziejczyk, J. K., Norman, G. J., Calfas, K., Huang, J. S., Rock, C. L., Patrick, K. (2014). Relationships between depression, gender, and unhealthy weight loss practices among overweight or obese college students. Eating Behaviors, 15(2), 271-274. Retrieved from http://fowler.ucsd.edu/depression_gender_and_weight_loss.pdf
Galambos, N., Leadbeater, B., & Barker, E. T. (2004). Gender differences in and risk factors for depression in adolescence: A 4-year longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(1), 16-25. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~mg640721/Fall%2006/research4501-2/depressionandgenderdifferences.pdf
Ryba, N. M., & Hopko, D. R. (2012). Gender Differences in Depression: Assessing Mediational Effects of Overt Behaviors and Environmental Reward through Daily Diary Monitoring. Depression Research and Treatment, vol. 2012, 1-9Article ID 865679. doi:10.1155/2012/865679. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221979709_Gender_Differences_in_Depression_Assessing_Mediational_Effects_of_Overt_Behaviors_and_Environmental_Reward_through_Daily_Diary_Monitoring
