Suicide Rates: Gender Differences In Depression

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN DEPRESSION Suicide rates often vary between genders, ethnicities, and social classes, but in some studies suicide rates are shown higher in adults, specifically older Caucasian males (Suicide). However, depression rates, in general, display a strong lean toward women throughout their youth leading into adulthood. During childhood, boys actually show higher rates of depression then girls do. It is not until the age of 14, when puberty starts to play a part in her life that girl’s rates in depression dramatically increase leaving the boys rates far behind them. This lead in women's depression rates over men’s is apparent until around the age of 55, when a woman's depression rates begin to return more equally with males
Whiffen explains how puberty becomes damaging to a young girls mental health and can easily cause feelings of depression, "the normal changes associated with puberty mean that girls gain fat, especially in their breasts and buttocks. They lose their prepubescent shape and the thinness that is so idealized in contemporary Western societies" (Whiffen). Males, on the other hand, begin to grow taller and gain more muscle through puberty, moving closer to the ideal vision of an attractive male body.
Women are also more susceptible to other disorders throughout the time of suffering from depression, most commonly eating disorders, panic and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, etc. (Whiffen). Chronic, recurring depression, for women, has often been related back to sexual abuse during childhood. Many studies have shown that childhood sexual abuse is more prevalent in young girls than in boys, while physical abuse is more prevalent in young boys than girls. As already stated woman tend to have a higher rate of experiencing depression, this suggests that perhaps sexual abuse, rather than physical abuse, during childhood is more damaging mentally and emotionally, resulting in higher depression rates. (Whiffen) Woman who have been sexually assaulted have reported being unable to trust family members, friends, and romantic partners. Many of these woman avoid having any close relationship altogether. A woman who has experienced childhood sexual abuse is more likely to experience divorce or separation than a woman who has not had this experience, which can put great life stress on them. This can result in an even higher risk of developing depression or anxiety (Whiffen). Statistically, woman that have faced sexual abuse in the past have an even higher chance of experiencing it in their adult years, in turn, resulting in memories and unfortunately, depression