Depression in Men?

Marilyn Monroe - if various internet sources are correct - suffered from depression. A typical female disorder? Statistics from the NIH show that women are 70% more likely to experience depression during their lifetime. But...



... according to the gender medicine approach, men seem to suffer from depression as often as women. Men are just less often diagnosed with depression. Statistical differences between men and women are explained by differences in gender roles (e.g. not seeking help), coping styles (e.g. substance abuse) and symptoms leading to an underestimation of the true rates. Men show more anger, aggression and irritability - symptoms that are usually not associated with depression as we are used to focusing on "traditional female symptoms" (see). Once again the behaviour and experience of the dominant group (here women) is seen as normative and those in the nondominant group (here men) are seen as "different". Depression needs to be taken seriously, the relative lack of research on gender and depression raises public health concerns (Addis, 2008).



Addis, M. E. (2008) Gender and Depression in Men. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 15(3), 153-166 (photos via and via)