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Cited by 117Labour Market and MigrationEmployment and Welfare StudiesGender, Health, and Social Inequality

Unequal depression for equal work? How the wage gap explains gendered disparities in mood disorders

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Platt, Jonathan, Prins, Seth, Bates, Lisa, Keyes, Katherine·2016·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.056PMC PMC4801117
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Abstract

Mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are more prevalent among women than men. This disparity may be partially due to the effects of structural gender discrimination in the work force, which acts to perpetuate gender differences in opportunities and resources and may manifest as the gender wage gap. We sought to quantify and operationalize the wage gap in order to explain the gender disparity in depression and anxiety disorders, using data from a 2001-2002 US nationally representative survey of 22,581 working adults ages 30-65. Using established Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition methods to account for gender differences in individual-level productivity, our models reduced the wage gap in our sample by 13.5%, from 54% of men's pay to 67.5% of men's pay. We created a propensity-score matched sample of productivity indicators to test if the direction of the wage gap moderated the effects of gender on depression or anxiety. Where female income was less than the matched male counterpart, odds of both disorders were significantly higher among women versus men (major depressive disorder OR: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.95-3.04; generalized anxiety disorder OR: 4.11, 95% CI: 2.80-6.02). Where female income was greater than the matched male, the higher odds ratios for women for both disorders were significantly attenuated (Major Depressive Disorder OR: 1.20; 95% CI: 0.96-1.52) (Generalized Anxiety Disorder OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.04-2.29). The test for effect modification by sex and wage gap direction was statistically significant for both disorders. Structural forms of discrimination may explain mental health disparities at the population level. Beyond prohibiting overt gender discrimination, policies must be created to address embedded inequalities in procedures surrounding labor markets and compensation in the workplace.

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  • MDD was associated with other psychiatric disorders, especially generalized anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder.

    “Major depressive disorder was associated with other psychiatric disorders, especially generalized anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder, associations found in previous studies.5,[46][47][48][49]”

    From Epidemiology of Adult <i>DSM-5</i> Major Depressive Disorder and Its Specifiers in the United States (2018) · cites this paper as [49]

    The Methods > Measures section identifies MDD and GAD as separate study outcomes, and the Results relate each to the gender wage gap; neither reports an association between MDD and GAD. Searches for MDD–GAD comorbidity and borderline personality disorder found no passage addressing the claimed associations. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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References 78 · Cited by 117

Research works printed but not linked: 43

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Authors
Platt, J., Prins, S., Bates, L., & Keyes, K.
Affiliations
Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Platt, Jonathan
ORCID
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-01
Volume
149
Pages
1-8
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.056
PMC
PMC4801117
OpenAlex
W2192957926
Cited by
117
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3
FWCI
17.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
erratum (2016-08-01)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K01AA021511)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH013043)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Labour Market and Migration
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Gender, Health, and Social Inequality
Keywords
gender pay gap, generalized anxiety disorder, mood disorders, mental health disparities, major depressive disorder, women's income, labor market inequality, Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Anxiety Disorders, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Efficiency, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Salaries and Fringe Benefits, United States, Work, Odds Ratio, Sex Distribution, Health Status Disparities

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