GENDER DIFFERENCES IN DEPRESSION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: A MULTI-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

It has been found that females often score higher on depression measures than males. However, this gender difference has not been thoroughly studied across ethnicities. This study examined gender differences in depression between African-Americans and Whites. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) was administered to 143 (74 males, 69 females) undergraduate students enrolled in introductory psychology classes (39% African-American and 61% White). The results indicate that White males scored significantly lower on depression than African-American males and females of both ethnic groups. Directions for future research are offered. Recently, Culbertson (1997) called for further cross-cultural research in the area of gender differences and depression. Several studies have indicated that females tend to score higher on depression than males (cf., Kessler, et al., 1994; Weissman, Bruce, Leaf, Florio, & Holzer, 1992). However, few studies have examined this gender difference cross-culturally. The current consensus appears to be that the incidence of depression is unrelated to ethnicity (American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Casper, Belanoff, & Offer, 1996; Lester & DeSimone, 1995). However, there have been discrepancies in the literature regarding this issue. Biafora (1995) found that African-Americans manifest significantly higher depressive symptoms than Whites. Conversely, Kessler, et al. (1994) found the prevalence of depression to be lower for African-Americans than for Whites. One study investigated differences between minorities and Whites among military personnel stationed stateside and assigned to combat duty (Sutker, Davis, Uddo, & Ditta, 1995). It was found that minority members scored higher on depression than Whites regardless of whether or not they were deployed to war zones. Further, females endorsed more depressive symptoms than males. Results comparing gender differences between ethnicities was not reported. Although, individuals describing themselves as minorities were not differentiated among ethnicities, the largest percentage of minority participants in the Sutker, et al. (1995) study were African-American. Thus, it seems reasonable that the minority group's results were representative of that ethnicity. The results of several studies have not supported gender and racial differences in the incidence of depression (i.e., Munford, 1994; Lester & DeSimone, 1995). However, others, such as Casper et al. (1996), found that females reported significantly higher levels of depression without any differences according to race. Bailey, Wolfe, and Wolfe (1996) indicated that White females had significantly higher levels of depression than either African-American or White males. Due to the discrepancies of the current literature and difficulties involved in procuring adequate samples, some researchers have chosen to disregard ethnicity in studying gender differences and depression. For example, Radloff (1980) suggested that Whites and nonwhites appeared to differ in their relationships to certain unspecified variables (other than race). However their sample of nonwhites was not sufficiently large enough to analyze these variables. Thus, data collected from nonwhite participants was not analyzed. Few studies have examined depression among African-Americans exclusively. Jackson, Thoits, and Taylor (1995) found that elite African-American leaders in the United States demonstrate significantly greater symptoms of depression than African-Americans not in an elite position. This finding may indicate that African-Americans holding positions grossly under represented by others of their ethnicity may be at a greater risk of experiencing depression. It has been suggested that this tendency to report higher levels of depression is related to the stress of feeling isolated as a result of holding an elite position and being perceived by other African-Americans as having lost some degree of black identity (Jackson et al. …