Women are approximately two times more likely than men to suffer from major depression and dysthymia (Research Agenda for Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors in Women's Health, 1996). Depression has been called the most significant mental health risk for women, especially younger women of childbearing and childrearing age (Glied & Kofman, 1995).

Depression in women is misdiagnosed approximately 30 percent to 50 percent of the time. Approximately 70 percent of the prescriptions for antidepressants are given to women, often with improper diagnosis and monitoring. Prescription drug misuse is a very real danger for women (McGrath et al., 1990).

Risk Factors for Depression in Women

High levels of depressive symptoms are particularly common among individuals with economic problems and those of lower socioeconomic status. Individuals who are less educated and unemployed are at higher risk for depression. These risk factors are overrepresented among women (McGrath et al., 1990).

Women of color are more likely than Caucasian women to share a number of socioeconomic risk factors for depression, including racial/ethnic discrimination, lower educational and income levels, segregation into low status and high-stress jobs, unemployment, poor health, larger family sizes, marital dissolution, and single parenthood (McGrath et al., 1990).

Women confronting the impact of immigration and acculturation reported a higher level of depression than those women without such conflicts. For example, the National Center for Health Statistics (1994) indicated that Asian American women over the age of 65 have the highest female suicide rate among all ethnic and racial groups. In addition, Asian American adolescent girls have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of all racial groups and have the highest suicide rate among all women between 15 and 24 years of age.

The rate of sexual and physical abuse is much higher than previously suspected and is a major factor in women's depression. Depressive symptoms may be long-standing effects of post-traumatic stress disorder for many women (McGrath et al., 1990).

Married women have higher rates of depression than unmarried women, but the reverse is true for men. Marriage seems to confer a greater protective advantage on men than on women. In unhappy marriages, women are three times as likely as men to be depressed. Women's risk of depressive symptoms and demoralization is higher among mothers of young children and increases with the number of children in the house (McGrath et al., 1990).

next: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Other Reproductive Lifecycle Depressive Disorders

References:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Frank, E., Kupfer, D. J., Perel, J. M., Cornes, C., Jarrett, D. B., Mallinger, A. G., Thase, M. E., McEachran, A. B., & Grochocinski, V. J. (1990). Three-year outcomes for maintenance therapies in recurrent depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 1093-1099.

Frasure-Smith, N., Lesperance, F., & Talajic, M. (1993). Depression following myocardial infarction: Impact on 6-month survival. Journal of the American Medical Association, 270, 1819-1825.

Glied, S., & Kofman, S. (1995, March). Women and mental health: Issues for health reform background paper]. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, Commission on Women's Health.

Johnson, J., Weissman, M. M., & Klerman, G. L. (1992). Service utilization and social morbidity associated with depressive symptoms in the community. Journal of the American Medical Association, 267, 1478-1483.

Katon, W., & Sullivan, M. D. (1990). Depression and chronic mental illness. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 51, 3-14.

Kessler, R. C., McGonagle, K. A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C. B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., Wittchen, H-U., & Kendler, K. S. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8-19.

McGrath, E., Keita, G. P., Stickland, B. R., & Russo, N. F. (1990). Women and depression: Risk factors and treatment issues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994). Health, United States 1995. Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Public Health Service.

next: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Other Reproductive Lifecycle Depressive Disorders