scholarly journals Measuring depressive symptoms during adolescence: what is the role of gender?

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Bulhões ◽  
E Ramos ◽  
M Severo ◽  
S Dias ◽  
H Barros
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Urban Adolescents ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
Regression Approach ◽  
The Difference

Aims.The higher prevalence of depressive symptoms among females is well recognised but the reasons for this gender difference are not fully understood. There is growing evidence that current diagnostic criteria and instruments used to assess depression are less sensitive to depression in men, but studies about this issue among adolescents are scarce, especially in Latin countries. Our aim was to assess sex differences in the intensity of depressive symptoms, measured using the Beck Depression Inventory second edition (BDI-II), among Portuguese adolescents, at 13 and 17 years of age.Methods.Urban adolescents born in 1990 and enrolled in schools of Porto, Portugal, in 2003–2004 (EPITeen study) completed the BDI-II at 13 and 17 years of age. The final sample included 1988 (52.2% girls) and 2131 (53.0% girls) adolescents at 13 and 17 years, respectively. Sex differences in the frequency of endorsing the statements on the 21 items of the BDI-II were examined using the χ2 test and effect sizes were estimated (Cohen's w). To examine whether responses were linked systematically to sex, we used a differential item functioning (DIF), based on the logistic regression approach. Option characteristic curves were estimated for items with differential endorsement and a new BDI-II score was computed excluding those items.Results.Girls and boys at the same level of depression expressed similar severity ratings for most of the depressive symptoms. We had four items with DIF at 13 and 17 years of age. At 13 years, two items provided lower scores (sadness and crying items) and two higher scores (punishment feelings and loss of interest in sex items) among boys, comparing with equally depressed girls. At 17 years, the four items with DIF provided lower scores among boys (sadness, crying, self-dislike and tiredness or fatigue items). After excluding these items the prevalence of depression remained higher among girls but at 17 years the difference between sexes was attenuated.Conclusions.Sex differences were found in the functioning of the BDI-II, more relevant at 17 years of age, which may lead to an overestimation of symptoms among girls as well as to lower reported rates of depression among boys. For a higher diagnostic accuracy it is important that the criteria and instruments used to assess depression adequately reflect female and male common symptoms and experiences of depression.

scholarly journals Maternal depressive symptoms and children's academic performance: sex differences in the mediating role of school experiences

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Marilyn N. Ahun ◽  
Lamprini Psychogiou ◽  
Frédéric Guay ◽  
Michel Boivin ◽  
Richard E. Tremblay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Peer Victimization ◽  
School Engagement ◽  
School Experiences ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Writing Scores

Abstract Background Maternal depressive symptoms (MDSs) are negatively associated with children's academic performance, with stronger effects sometimes reported in boys. However, few studies have tested the mechanisms of this association. We examined the mediating role of school engagement and peer victimization in this association and tested for sex differences. Methods Participants were 1173 families from a population-based longitudinal Canadian study. MDSs were self-reported annually using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (child's age: 5 months to 5 years). Data on mediators (peer victimization, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional school engagement) were reported annually from ages 6–10 by multiple informants including children, parents, and teachers using items from validated scales. Mathematics, reading, and writing exam scores at age 12 were obtained from standardized exams administered by Québec's Ministry of Education and Teaching. Structural equation modeling was used to test mediation by school experiences in boys and girls. Results Exposure to MDSs was negatively associated with mathematics, reading, and writing scores in girls and with mathematics only in boys. Cognitive and behavioral engagement significantly mediated the association between MDSs and mathematics, reading, and writing scores in girls. There were no significant mediators for boys. Conclusions Prevention and intervention strategies aiming to improve school engagement might be beneficial for daughters of mothers experiencing depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to replicate these findings and to identify the mechanisms explaining this association in boys.

Effect-Size Measures and Meta-Analytic Thinking in Counseling Psychology Research

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 601-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin K. Henson
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Analytic Thinking ◽  
Statistical Significance Testing ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Result Interpretation

Effect sizes are critical to result interpretation and synthesis across studies. Although statistical significance testing has historically dominated the determination of result importance, modern views emphasize the role of effect sizes and confidence intervals. This article accessibly discusses how to calculate and interpret the effect sizes that counseling psychologists use most frequently. To provide context, the author presents a brief history of statistical significance tests. Second, the author discusses the difference between statistical, practical, and clinical significance. Third, the author reviews and graphically demonstrates two common types of effect sizes, commenting on multivariate and corrected effect sizes. Fourth, the author emphasizes meta-analytic thinking and the potential role of confidence intervals around effect sizes. Finally, the author gives a hypothetical example of how to report and potentially interpret some effect sizes.

Sex Differences in Phonetic Processing: Speed of Identification of Alphabetical Sequences

1997 ◽  
Vol 85 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1243-1251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond L. Majeres
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Matching Condition ◽  
Female College Students ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Verbal Processes ◽  
The Brain

Research on the sex difference in speed of matching strings of letters or digits has suggested that the difference is associated with the speed of the comparison and decision processes rather than with symbol recognition. In addition, the size of the difference is affected by whether the code used for the comparisons is figural or verbal. Given recent evidence on both the critical role of phonological processing in reading and sex differences in the lateralization of phonological processes in the brain, it was hypothesized that on a speeded task with high demands for phonological efficiency sex differences might be found even though no perceptual comparisons were required. In a study with 57 male and 60 female college students, the women were significantly faster in identifying alphabetical sequences and were more accurate than men. There were no significant sex differences on a perceptual matching condition. The results suggest that the verbal processes implicated in earlier work on sex differences in speed of symbol matching may be primarily due to sex differences in the efficiency of phonological processing.

Sex differences in posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms in police officers following exposure to violence in Ferguson

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marin C. Beagley ◽  
Zoë D. Peterson ◽  
David R. Strasshofer ◽  
Tara E. Galovski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Officers

PurposeWomen comprise a significant and growing proportion of the law enforcement population. Despite this, their potentially unique reactions to job-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression have been underrepresented in the relevant literature, particularly within the context of exposure to community violence. Also understudied is the role of empathy in the development of post-trauma reactions, which has been a risk factor for the development of posttraumatic distress in previous studies. With the recent endorsement of empathy training by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, it is important to examine ways in which empathy may contribute to differences in PTSS and depression for male and female officers. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachMale and female police officers (n=189) exposed to violence during the 2014 Ferguson protests completed a battery of measures designed to assess demographic information, prior trauma history, and mental health outcomes.FindingsModeration analyses showed that empathy moderated the relationships between exposure and PTSS and exposure and depression in female officers, such that exposure was associated with higher posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms only for female officers with high levels of empathy. These relationships were not found for men.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine sex differences and the role of empathy in the mental health effects of law enforcement secondary to violence during community protests against policing.

Depressive symptoms in adolescence: The role of perceived parental support, psychological control, and proactive control in interaction with 5-HTTLPR

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Van Assche ◽  
T. Moons ◽  
K. Van Leeuwen ◽  
H. Colpin ◽  
K. Verschueren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Psychological Control ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Perceived Parenting ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Parenting Dimensions

AbstractBackgroundParenting dimensions are associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents. We investigated the role of perceived parenting dimensions and gene-environment interactions between these perceived parenting dimensions and five well-known variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs): 5-HTTLPR, STin2, DAT1, DRD4, and MAO-A, in depressive symptoms.MethodsFrom a non-clinical sample of 1111 Belgian adolescents (mean age: 13.79 years, SD = .94; 51% boys), 1103 adolescents consented for genetic research. Five VNTRs were analyzed using DNA from saliva samples. Perceived parenting dimensions (i.e., support, proactive control, psychological control, punishment, and harsh punishment) were examined using self-report scales completed by adolescents and their parents. Depressive symptoms were investigated using the CES-D self-report scale. Statistical analyses were performed in R using linear regression.ResultsParental support, as perceived by the adolescent, was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (CES-D) and psychological control was positively associated with these symptoms. The only interaction effect withstanding correction for multiple testing was observed for 5-HTTLPR and the difference in proactive control as perceived by adolescents in comparison to parents. Short-allele carriers showed more depressive symptoms when there was a higher discrepancy in proactive control as perceived by adolescents versus parents.ConclusionsOur results suggest that perceived parenting dimensions are associated with depressive symptoms, as measured by the CES-D. We only found modest evidence for 5-HTTLPR as a moderator in the association between the difference in perception of proactive control (adolescents vs. parents) and depressive symptoms.

Sex Differences in the Development of Perceived Family Cohesion and Depressive Symptoms in Taiwanese Adolescents

2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tat-Ming Sze ◽  
Sieh-Hwa Lin ◽  
Pei-Jung Hsieh ◽  
I-Jung Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Growth Analysis ◽  
Family Cohesion ◽  
Character Development ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Latent Curve

This study investigates the progression of family cohesion perceptions and depressive symptoms during the character development stage in adolescents. Data were used from the Taiwan Youth Project. The final sample comprised 2,690 adolescents with 1,312 girls (48.8%; M age = 13.0 yr., SD = 0.5). Latent curve growth analysis was employed to explore these developments. Seventh-grade girls reported greater family cohesion and more depressive symptoms than boys, and boys reported greater growth in family cohesion than girls. However, progression of depressive symptoms was not associated with the child's sex. Higher perceived family cohesion in Grade 7 correlated with less increase of depressive symptoms from Grades 9 to 11. The long-term positive influence of family cohesion on depressive symptoms is discussed.

The role of differential phase contrast in electron microscopy

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-177
Author(s):  
E.M. Waddell ◽  
J.N. Chapman ◽  
R.P. Ferrier
Keyword(s):  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Position Vector ◽  
Differential Phase ◽  
Pure Phase ◽  
Differential Phase Contrast ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Image Position ◽  
First Moment

Dekkers and de Lang (1977) have discussed a practical method of realising differential phase contrast in a STEM. The method involves taking the difference signal from two semi-circular detectors placed symmetrically about the optic axis and subtending the same angle (2α) at the specimen as that of the cone of illumination. Such a system, or an obvious generalisation of it, namely a quadrant detector, has the characteristic of responding to the gradient of the phase of the specimen transmittance. In this paper we shall compare the performance of this type of system with that of a first moment detector (Waddell et al.1977).For a first moment detector the response function R(k) is of the form R(k) = ck where c is a constant, k is a position vector in the detector plane and the vector nature of R(k)indicates that two signals are produced. This type of system would produce an image signal given bywhere the specimen transmittance is given by a (r) exp (iϕ (r), r is a position vector in object space, ro the position of the probe, ⊛ represents a convolution integral and it has been assumed that we have a coherent probe, with a complex disturbance of the form b(r-ro) exp (iζ (r-ro)). Thus the image signal for a pure phase object imaged in a STEM using a first moment detector is b2 ⊛ ▽ø. Note that this puts no restrictions on the magnitude of the variation of the phase function, but does assume an infinite detector.

Sex Differences in Childhood Associations between DNA Markers and General Cognitive Ability

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind Arden ◽  
Nicole Harlaar ◽  
Robert Plomin
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Dna Markers ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
The Difference

Abstract. An association between intelligence at age 7 and a set of five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has been identified and replicated. We used this composite SNP set to investigate whether the associations differ between boys and girls for general cognitive ability at ages 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10 years. In a longitudinal community sample of British twins aged 2-10 (n > 4,000 individuals), we found that the SNP set is more strongly associated with intelligence in males than in females at ages 7, 9, and 10 and the difference is significant at 10. If this finding replicates in other studies, these results will constitute the first evidence of the same autosomal genes acting differently on intelligence in the two sexes.

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