Sex differences in the relationship between social support and risk for major depression: a longitudinal study of opposite-sex twin pairs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Compared to men, women have larger and more intimate social networks and higher rates of major depression. Prior studies have suggested that women are more sensitive to the depressogenic effects of low social support, but most of these studies had substantial methodologic limitations. METHOD: In two interview waves at least 1 year apart, 1,057 pairs of opposite-sex dizygotic twin pairs ascertained from a population-based register were assessed. The authors predicted risk of major depression in the year before the wave 2 interview from levels of social support assessed at wave 1. RESULTS: Women reported higher levels of global social support than their twin brothers. Global social support at wave 1 predicted risk for major depression at wave 2 significantly more strongly in female than in male members of these pairs, and the same effect was seen when the analysis controlled for the history of major depression in the year prior to wave 1. Women were more sensitive than men to the depressogenic effects of low levels of social support, particularly from the co-twin, other relatives, parents, and spouses. Levels of social support did not explain the sex difference in risk for major depression. CONCLUSIONS: Emotionally supportive social relationships are substantially more protective against major depression for women than for men. While these effects cannot explain sex effects on the prevalence of major depression, they do suggest important sex differences in pathways of risk. Clarification of the nature of the causal links between low social support and depression in women is needed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
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?
Insufficient social support and stressful life events pose a greater risk for depression among women compared with men.
“insufficient social support and stressful life events have been found to pose a greater risk for depression among women compared with men.26, 27”
From Association of depressive disorders, depression characteristics and antidepressant medication with inflammation (2012) · cites this paper as [26]
Gender and perceived social support interact to predict depression, such that only among females does perceived social support predict the disorder.
“Similarly, gender and perceived social support interact to predict depression, such that only among females does perceived social support predict the disorder.32,34”
Cites
A Coefficient of Agreement for Nominal Scales
Cohen, J. (1960) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/001316446002000104 · Cited by 42,398 · see citing works
Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310 · Cited by 18,093 · see citing works
Social Relationships and Health
House, J. S., Landis, K. R., & Umberson, D. (1988) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.3399889 · Cited by 7,073 · see citing works
Social support: An interactional view.
Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., & Pierce, G. R. (1990) · Wiley eBooks · Cited by 2,657 · see citing works
Toward a New Psychology of Women.
Chodorow, N. J., & Miller, J. B. (1977) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2066468 · Cited by 2,346 · see citing works
Kessler, R. (1993) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/0165-0327(93)90026-g · Cited by 2,207 · see citing works
The two sexes: growing up apart, coming together
(1998) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.36-1880 · Cited by 1,360 · see citing works
Toward a comprehensive developmental model for major depression in women
Kendler, K. S., Gardner, C. O., & Prescott, C. A. (2002) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1133 · Cited by 962 · see citing works
Self-citationWilhelm, K. A. (1991) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.28-3566 · Cited by 857 · see citing works
Unifactor Latent Trait Models Applied to Multifactor Tests: Results and Implications
Reckase, M. D. (1979) · Journal of Educational Statistics · doi:10.3102/10769986004003207 · Cited by 845 · see citing works
A Population-Based Twin Study of Lifetime Major Depression in Men and Women
Kendler, K. S., & Prescott, C. A. (1999) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.1.39 · Cited by 512 · see citing works
Self-citationKeel, P. K., & Mitchell, J. E. (1997) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.154.3.313 · Cited by 372 · see citing works
13. Gender Differences in the Social Moderators of Stress
Belle, D. E. (1991) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/mona92982-021 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
Gender differences in correlates of depressive symptoms in adolescents
Schraedley-Desmond, P., Gotlib, I. H., & Hayward, C. (1999) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/s1054-139x(99)00038-5 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Quadflieg, N., Voderholzer, U., & Fichter, M. M. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97416-9_89-1 · Cited by 272 · see citing works
Bebbington, P. (1998) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291797006065 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Gender differences in the effects from working conditions on mental health: A 4-year follow-up
Bildt, C., & Michélsen, H. (2002) · International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health · doi:10.1007/s00420-001-0299-8 · Cited by 207 · see citing works
Gender Differences in Causes of Depression
Elliott, M. (2001) · Women & Health · doi:10.1300/j013v33n03_11 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Monroe, S. M., & Steiner, S. C. (1986) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037//0021-843x.95.1.29 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Windle, M. T. (1992) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/bf01536980 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
The Relationship between Social Support and Major Depression
Wade, T. D., & Kendler, K. S. (2000) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-200005000-00001 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial support, depressed mood, and adjustment to stress: A genetic epidemiologic investigation.
Kessler, R. C., Kendler, K. S., Heath, A. C., Neale, M. C., & al, E. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.62.2.257 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Self-citationA longitudinal study of social support and depression in unemployed men
Bolton, W., & Oatley, K. (1987) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291700025010 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Measurement of interpersonal orientation.
Swap, W. C., & Rubin, J. Z. (1983) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.208 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Olstad, R., Sexton, H. C., & Søgaard, A. J. (2001) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s127-001-8197-0 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Stansfeld, S. A., Fuhrer, R., & Shipley, M. J. (1998) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291798006746 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Social support, depressed mood, and adjustment to stress: A genetic epidemiologic investigation.
Kessler, R. C., Kendler, K. S., Heath, A. C., Neale, M. C., & Eaves, L. J. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.62.2.257 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Self-citationGender-specific effects of social housing in rats after chronic mild stress exposure
Westenbroek, C. (2003) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0278-5846(02)00310-x · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Gender differences in marital support following a shared life event
Edwards, A. C., Nazroo, J. Y., & Brown, G. W. (1998) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(97)10039-9 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Wade, T. D., & Kendler, K. S. (2000) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291799002251 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citationA twin study of sex differences in social support
Arpana Agrawal, A., Jacobson, K. C., Prescott, C. A., & Kendler, K. S. (2002) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291702006281 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Self-citationVeiel, H. O., & Baumann, U. (2014) · Taylor & Francis eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315800844-14 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Why is depression more common among women than among men?
Kuehner, C. (2017) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(16)30263-2 · Cited by 1,752 · see citing works
Gariépy, G., Honkaniemi, H., & Quesnel-Vallée, A. (2016) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.115.169094 · Cited by 1,210 · see citing works
Depression sum-scores don’t add up: why analyzing specific depression symptoms is essential
Fried, E. I., & Nesse, R. M. (2015) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0325-4 · Cited by 981 · see citing works
The benefits of social capital: close social bonds among female baboons enhance offspring survival
Silk, J. B., Beehner, J. C., Bergman, T. J., Crockford, C., Engh, A. L., Moscovice, L. R., Wittig, R. M., Seyfarth, R. M., & Cheney, D. L. (2009) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0681 · Cited by 717 · see citing works
Dalgard, O. S., Dowrick, C., Lehtinen, V., Vazquez-Barquero, J. L., Casey, P., Wilkinson, G., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Page, H., Dunn, G., & The ODIN Group (2006) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-006-0051-5 · Cited by 622 · see citing works
Cruwys, T., Dingle, G. A., Haslam, C., Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., & Morton, T. A. (2013) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.013 · Cited by 525 · see citing works
Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2016) · Social Science Computer Review · doi:10.1177/0894439314567449 · Cited by 519 · see citing works
Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G., & Chang, M. X.-L. (2016) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.01.010 · Cited by 458 · see citing works
Vogelzangs, N., Duivis, H. E., Beekman, A. T. F., Kluft, C., Neuteboom, J., Hoogendijk, W., Smit, J. H., de Jonge, P., & Penninx, B. W. J. H. (2012) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/tp.2012.8 · Cited by 323 · see citing works
“26,27 Results of increased inflammation were particularly present in men with late-onset depression.”
BackgroundConley, C. S., Kirsch, A. C., Dickson, D. A., & Bryant, F. B. (2014) · Emerging Adulthood · doi:10.1177/2167696814521808 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Identification and Health in Organizational Contexts
Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Schuh, S. C., Jetten, J., & van Dick, R. (2017) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868316656701 · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Sex Differences in the Pathways to Major Depression: A Study of Opposite-Sex Twin Pairs
Kendler, K. S., & Gardner, C. O. (2014) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13101375 · Cited by 307 · see citing works
Self-citationHarshaw, C. (2015) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0038101 · Cited by 302 · see citing works
Duivis, H. E., Vogelzangs, N., Kupper, N., de Jonge, P., & Penninx, B. W. J. H. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.01.002 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
Zhang, M., Zhang, J., Zhang, F., Zhang, L., & Feng, D. (2018) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.06.038 · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Dour, H. J., Wiley, J. F., Roy-Byrne, P., Stein, M. B., Sullivan, G., Sherbourne, C. D., Bystritsky, A., Rose, R. D., & Craske, M. G. (2014) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.22216 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
“[36, 38] Similarly, gender and perceived social support interact to predict depression, such that only among females does perceived social support predict the disorder.[32, 34] Findings regarding the interaction effect of age and perceived social support on depression and anxiety have been mixed.”
BackgroundFrison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.070 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Ibarra-Rovillard, M. S., & Kuiper, N. A. (2011) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.01.005 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Yang, Y. C., Schorpp, K., & Harris, K. M. (2014) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.02.013 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Sex differences in stress responses: focus on ovarian hormones
Ter Horst, G. J., Wichmann, R., Gerrits, M., Westenbroek, C., & Lin, Y. (2009) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.036 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Vogelzangs, N., Kritchevsky, S. B., Beekman, A. T. F., Brenes, G. A., Newman, A. B., Satterfield, S., Yaffe, K., Harris, T. B., Penninx, B. W. J. H., & Study, H. A. (2010) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.4088/jcp.08m04743blu · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Liu, H., Zhang, M., Yang, Q., & Yu, B. (2020) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-019-01726-6 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981–2004
Eaton, W. W., Kalaydjian, A., Scharfstein, D. O., Mezuk, B., & Ding, Y. (2007) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01017.x · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Love is more than just a kiss: a neurobiological perspective on love and affection
de Boer, A., van Buel, E. M., & Ter Horst, G. J. (2012) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.11.017 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Park, N. S., Jang, Y., Lee, B. S., Haley, W. E., & Chiriboga, D. A. (2013) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbs062 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Increasing Mental Health Literacy via Narrative Advertising
Chang, C. (2008) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730701807027 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Serotonin: modulator of a drive to withdraw.
Tops, M., Russo, S., Boksem, M. A. S., & Tucker, D. M. (2009) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2009.03.009 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Social context and the real-world consequences of social anxiety
Hur, J., DeYoung, K. A., Islam, S., Anderson, A. S., Barstead, M. G., & Shackman, A. J. (2020) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291719002022 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Is excess mortality higher in depressed men than in depressed women? A meta-analytic comparison
Cuijpers, P., Vogelzangs, N., Twisk, J., Kleiboer, A., Li, J., & Penninx, B. W. (2014) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.03.003 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
The link between value motives, value success, and well‐being among people diagnosed with cancer
Ciarrochi, J., Fisher, D., & Lane, L. (2011) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.1832 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Khallad, Y., & Jabr, F. (2016) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12177 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Biological embedding of perinatal social relationships in infant stress reactivity
Thomas, J. C., Letourneau, N., Bryce, C. I., Campbell, T. S., Giesbrecht, G. F., & The APrON Study Team (2017) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.21505 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
The role of co-rumination and adrenocortical attunement in young women’s close friendships
Rankin, A., Swearingen-Stanborough, C., Granger, D. A., & Byrd-Craven, J. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.027 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
McKenzie, L. E., Polur, R. N., Wesley, C., Allen, J. D., McKeown, R. E., & Zhang, J. (2013) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0020764012463302 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kendler, K. S., Myers, J., & Prescott, C. A.
- Affiliations
- Virginia Commonwealth University (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2005-02-01
- Volume
- 162
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 250-256
- ISSN
- 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
- 1535-7228
- OpenAlex
- W2145197998
- Cited by
- 544
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 23.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA-49492)
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH-49492, R01MH049492)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (/DA-49492)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Health and Well-being Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- sex differences, major depressive disorder, social support, depression risk, opposite-sex twins
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Major Depressive Disorder, Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted, Diseases in Twins, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Social Support, Sociometric Techniques, Twins, Dizygotic, Virginia, Logistic Models, Sex Distribution, Principal Component Analysis
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
