CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 674Gender Roles and Identity StudiesMental Health Treatment and AccessAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

The Experience of Symptoms of Depression in Men vs Women: Analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication

Martin, Lisa A., Neighbors, Harold W., Griffith, Derek M.·2013·JAMA Psychiatry
DOI 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.1985
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: When men are depressed they may experience symptoms that are different than what is included in the current diagnostic criteria. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether sex disparities in depression rates disappear when alternative symptoms are considered in the place of, or in addition to, more conventional depression symptoms. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a nationally represented mental health survey, we evaluated sex differences in symptom endorsement in 2 new scales that included alternative depression symptoms. We analyzed sex differences in symptom endorsement using 2-sided, design-based, .05-level t tests and multivariate logistic regression to identify predictors of depression. RESULTS; Men reported higher rates of anger attacks/aggression, substance abuse, and risk taking compared with women. Analyses using the scale that included alternative, male-type symptoms of depression found that a higher proportion of men (26.3%) than women (21.9%) (P = .007) met criteria for depression. Analyses using the scale that included alternative and traditional depression symptoms found that men and women met criteria for depression in equal proportions: 30.6% of men and 33.3% of women (P = .57). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: When alternative and traditional symptoms are combined, sex disparities in the prevalence of depression are eliminated. Further study is needed to clarify which symptoms truly describe men's experiences of depression.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.1985

Cites

21 of 21 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • It is possible that symptoms are minimized by the LR-GI patient group, as men have a higher rate of minimizing self-reported symptoms due to societal ideals of masculinity.

    “as men have a higher rate of minimizing self-reported symptoms due to societal ideals of masculinity (Martin et al., 2013), it is possible that symptoms are minimized by this patient group.”

    From Time in treatment: Examining mental illness trajectories across inpatient psychiatric treatment (2020) · cites this paper as Martin et al., 2013

  • Epidemiological studies indicate a higher prevalence of depression among women, but this may result from a skewed diagnosis due to clinical scales of depression measuring symptoms that occur more frequently among women.

    “epidemiological studies indicate that there is a higher prevalence of depression among women, however, this may result from a skewed diagnosis due to clinical scales of depression measuring symptoms that occur more frequently among women21.”

    From Sex and gender differences and biases in artificial intelligence for biomedicine and healthcare (2020) · cites this paper as [21]

  • The list of symptoms and signs in Table 1 is based on the best available evidence.

    “The list of symptoms and signs in Table 1 - almost identical to that proposed by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) since its 3rd edition (DSM-III) 50 -is based on the best available evidence.”

    From Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission (2022) · cites this paper as [51]

  • A further symptom, 'diminished drive,' outperformed almost all those that are currently listed.

    “A further symptom, 'diminished drive,' outperformed almost all those that are currently listed, and should probably be added to the list. 51”

    From Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission (2022) · cites this paper as [51]

  • 'Hopelessness about the future,' the only symptom included in the ICD-11 but not in the DSMs, performed more strongly than about half of the DSM symptoms and signs in differentiating depressed from non-depressed subjects.

    “'Hopelessness about the future,' the only symptom included in the ICD-11 but not in the DSMs, performed more strongly than about half of the DSM symptoms and signs in differentiating depressed from non-depressed subjects. 51”

    From Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission (2022) · cites this paper as [51]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Martin, L. A., Neighbors, H. W., & Griffith, D. M.
Affiliations
  • University of Michigan–Dearborn (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Vanderbilt University (US)
Corresponding author
Martin, Lisa A.
ORCID
Venue
JAMA Psychiatry
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2013-10-01
Volume
70
Issue
10
Pages
1100
ISSN
2168-622X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.1985
OpenAlex
W2133574018
Cited by
674
References
21
Citations by year
2026: 52 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 59 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 79 · 2020: 62 · 2019: 44 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 39 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 3
FWCI
86.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • JAMA Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
depression, sex differences, anger attacks, aggression, substance abuse, risk-taking, diagnostic criteria, depression prevalence, National Comorbidity Survey Replication
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Depression, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Sex Characteristics, Logistic Models, Symptom Assessment

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review