Gender differences in depression have been thoroughly analyzed among adults, with findings suggesting preponderance of depressive symptoms among women as compared to men. However, the gender gap in depression among adolescents has garnered attention only recently.Given the fact that adolescence is the phase that triggers restlessness and agitation, an alarming number of teenagers tend to suffer from depressive symptoms.
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Until the 1980s, most psychologists upheld the notion that children and adolescents were free from any kind of mental affliction that are common in adults.
With depressive symptoms apparent in children at a very young age, a number of biological and social factors during mid-adolescence like hormonal changes, overindulgence in social networking sites (SNSs), etc. impact the gender gap among adolescents coping with depression. Lately, the total number of children suffering from depression has risen at an incredible rate.
Gender gap in depression in early age
A study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry provides insight into the prevalence of depression among American teenagers.
Though the study suggested that depression starts appearing in children as early as 11 years of age, the gender gap widens rapidly by the time they reach the age of 17. Compared to 36.1 percent of girls suffering from depression, around 13.6 percent boys grappled with the problem at the age of 17.
The study used data from personal interviews of over 100,000 children who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a representative survey sample of the U.S. population between 2009 and 2014. The questions asked in the interview encompassed the participants' interplay with insomnia, irritability, and the feeling of guilt or worthlessness that were used to assess depression based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
The findings of the above study come as a huge blow due to the suggestion that the rate of teenage depression is much higher than previously believed, particularly among adolescent girls. Joshua Breslau, lead author of the study, pointed out that such a gap in depression among adolescent boys and girls becomes prominent in the later years.Similarly, one of the major contributions of the study to the literature on depression is that the gender gap is acutely widened at the age of 12, debunking the previous conjecture that the gap occurs between ages 12 and 17.
Depression among adolescent girls
There are a plethora of hypotheses that attempted to explain the gender gap from a mental health perspective.
Depressive symptoms have been largely associated with a greater degree of disease burden that compound problems by affecting academics and relationships and increasing the risk of suicide. In fact, it has become important for adults working with children and teenagers, such as schoolteachers, counselors, etc., to recognize the risk of depression and alleviate the problem by ensuring access to mental health services.
Though emotional, biological, cognitive, behavioral and social-interpersonal challenges related to depression are almost same irrespective of genders, they are more prevalent among adolescent girls. Pubertal changes, negative thought patterns like low self-esteem and rumination are more common in teenage girls, increasing the risk of depression.
A 2016 study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered the rates of teenage depression has significantly risen since 2011, suggesting the increasing role of social media in triggering and aggravating the existing mental health conditions like depression. Social media components, such as tags, likes, photos and other posts that empower people to express themselves more than ever before.Compared to others, adolescent girls stand more susceptible than others to experience an identity crisis and the symptoms of depression.
Get help to overcome depression
Adolescence is a period of rapid neuropsychological and physical development before an individual attains adulthood.
However, it is also a risky stage where teenagers are more vulnerable to the negative consequences of parental, societal and biological changes. These factors have the potential to burden adolescents with psychological stressors that can develop into a mental disorder when ignored or left unaddressed.