Depression & Gender

Marcus, S. M., Young, E. A., Kerber, K. B., Kornstein, S. Farabaugh, A.H., Mitchell, J., Wisniewski, S. R., Balasubramani, G. K., Trivedi, M. H., & Rush, A. J. (2005). Gender differences in depression: Findings from the STARD study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 87, 141-150.    This is a study of a subpopulation of the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STARD) sample. Sheila Marcus and her colleagues examined data from the initial 1,500 persons with Major Depressive Disorder who participated in STARD. The majority (62.8%) of the sample was women.

Sheila Marcus and her colleagues reported that women “had a younger age at onset of the first major depressive episode (p. 141; age of onset for women, M = 24.3 years, while age of onset for men, M = 26.5 years), and they also reported a longer current depressive episode than men (M = 22.9 months compared to 17.3 months for men). Women were also more likely to report a prior suicide attempt (19.7% of women compared to 13.8% of men). Women were more likely than men to report co-occurring symptoms of somatoform disorder, bulimia, and anxiety disorders. Men were more likely than women to report comorbid alcohol and drug abuse.

As the researchers observe, the gender prevalence rate (62.8% women; 37.2% men) “argues against increased treatment seeking in women” (p. 147) as the sole explanation for women being overrepresented among those suffering from depression. This is an important area of research and one that Christian counselors will want to be aware of, as identifying identifying variables associated with Major Depressive Disorder may lead to improved prevention and treatment models, some of which we may find vary considerably by gender.

Media & Women’s Desire To Be Thin

Park, S. Y. (2005). The influence of presumed media influence on women’s desire to be thin. Communication Research, 32 (5), 594-614.

Sung-Yeon Park published a study on the effect of magazine use on women’s desires to be thin. Four hundred fifty-three female college students were recruited to participate in the study and 432 (78%) completed the survey.

Participants shared information on beauty and fashion magazine use, perceptions of their ideal in the media, perceptions of their ideal woman, man, and image of themselves, as well as their desire to be thin. Structural equation modeling supported the researcher’s hypothesis that reading beauty and fashion magazines was related to the desire to be thin both directly and indirectly. Indirect influence referred to presumed influence on others (the survey respondent’s view that other women and men are also influenced by ubiquitous, thin body types and preference for them, thereby “adding pressure to conform to the norm of ideal thinness” (p. 607)).

As the author notes, counselors will want to be aware that efforts to address the social pressure to be thin may need to target both actual social pressure and projected social pressure. Park suggests that more discussion of social pressure may increase awareness that there is a much broader base of social critique of media images than people might otherwise suppose.

Menopause

Dillaway, H. E. (2005). (Un)changing menopausal bodies: How women think and act in the face of a reproductive transition and gendered beauty ideals. Sex Roles, 53 (1/2), 1-17.    This is a study exploring the meanings and experiences of menopause. Heather Dillaway interviewed 61 women about their experiences of menopause. The women were identified through convenience sampling (including women’s organizations, health clinics, churches, and fitness clubs) and use of the “snowball” technique (participants identify other prospective participants for the study). Study participants were between the ages of 38 and 60 and thought of themselves as perimenopausal or menopausal. Dillaway held two focus groups to identify relevant questions, and eight women participated in these focus groups, while the remaining 53 women were interviewed apart from a focus group.

When asked to describe menopause, nearly all (92%) of the women in the sample “viewed menopausal bodies as changing bodies (p. 8).” The changes were often discussed in terms of symptoms, such as irregular bleeding, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, cold sweats, and so on. Nearly as many women (85%) “highlighted menopause as the main cause of particular changes in their physical appearance (p. 8),” and most of these women (67%) “defined these changes in their physical appearance as problematic and negative (p. 8).” Dillaway sees these reports of concern about changes as related to wanting to look “good,” by which participants seemed to mean unchanged over time. The bodily changes identified as most problematic were weight gain (reported by 56% of women), skin changes (54%), and sagging breasts (15%).

The two other major themes reported by Dillaway dealt with changing bodies as “undesirable” and “invisible” and the desire to control bodies characterized as “unruly.” The former theme focused on how others’ perceive their physical appearance, while the latter theme focused on “attempts to maintain a gendered body (p. 12)” through various routines. It should be noted that most women in the sample reported positive experiences with menopause, though these were not the focus of the present report. It may be helpful to conduct additional research on a larger, representative sample of women and to further explore and report on both the positive and negative experiences of menopause.

Career Self-Efficacy, Barriers & Women’s Experiences of Partner Violence

Albaugh, L. M., & Nauta, M. N. (2005). Career decision self-efficacy, career barriers, and college women’s experiences of intimate partner violence. Journal of Career Assessment, 13 (3), pp. 288-306.

Lisa Albaugh and Margaret Nauta of Illinois State University report on a study of 129 female college students and their experiences of partner violence and career decision self-efficacy. The majority of the sample was Caucasian (82%), while 12% identified as African-American, 2% as Hispanic, 2% as Asian-American, 2% as biracial, and 2% as another race. Most of the sample (90%) was also between the ages of 26 and 35, and most (93%) identified themselves as single and living apart from their partners.

Participants completed measures of career self-efficacy, career barriers, and mood and anxiety symptoms. About half (52%) of the sample reported at least one incident of psychological aggression (verbal denigration or threats) in the last year, 16% reported at least one incident of physical assault (hitting or throwing something) and 20% reported at least one incident of sexual coercion (sexual behavior due to force or threats) in the past year. Only 4% reported injury from their partner in the previous year. The majority (86%) of participants reported at least one instance of positive conflict negotiation skills or strategies (resolving a disagreement through discussion) in the past year.

Psychological aggression, assault, and injury were unrelated to career decision self-efficacy. However, sexual coercion was negatively related to career self-efficacy or “participants’ confidence in their ability to engage in accurate selfappraisal, their ability to select goals and their ability to problem-solve when faced with career decision-making challenges (p. 296).”

In many respects this was an exploratory study. It may be helpful to continue to study partner violence—and specifically sexual coercion—and its affect on women who are making a number of important life decisions, including those related to their careers.

Religious/Spiritual Coping and Trauma

Fallot, R. D. & Heckman, J. P. (2005). Religious/spiritual coping among women trauma survivors with mental health and substance use disorders. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 32 (2), 212-226.

Fallot and Heckman published a study of religious/spiritual coping strategies used by female trauma survivors who also suffer from a mental health or substance use disorder. The data is from the Women, Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS).  Six hundred sixty-six participants (all women, 18 years of age or older with co-occurring alcohol, drug, or mental health disorder) completed an in-person, structured interview on religious coping following the prior interview for the WCDVS study. Participants completed measures of religious coping, mental health symptoms, alcohol and drug measures, and measures of trauma history and symptoms.

The researchers found that participants reported more positive than negative religious coping and that the use of religious coping was higher than that reported by the general population. Severity of trauma symptoms and mental health symptoms were related to negative religious coping—the more severe the trauma or mental health concern, the more likely the person was to report use of negative religious coping. Increased frequency of childhood abuse and childhood sexual violence was also related to negative religious coping.

As the researchers observe, religious coping can be either helpful or harmful to psychological well-being. It may be especially important to identify ways to promote positive religious/spiritual coping activities among clients who struggle with various symptoms, and as the authors suggest, a good starting point would be to assess religious and spiritual old_resources as well as the function of those old_resources in the person’s life.

Obesity & Premenstrual Syndrome

Masho, S. W., Adera, T., & South-Paul, J. (2005). Obesity as a risk factor for premenstrual syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 26 (1), 33-39.    Saba Masho and her colleagues reported on a study of risk factors for premenstrual syndrome. The researchers used a random-digit dialing technique to identify and contact 874 participants. Study participants completed measures of premenstrual syndrome, as well as questions related to physical activity, stress, nutrition, and various items addressing sociodemographic variables. The researchers also calculated Body Mass Index based on self-report of height and weight.

Masho and her colleagues reported a 10.3% prevalence rate for PMS. Women who were in the obese category (BMI > 30, which is consistent with standards published by the National Institute of Health) were nearly three times (2.9x) more likely to report PMS than women who were not obese. PMS was also more likely among women who identified as White/Caucasian, younger in age (i.e., between the ages of 18 and 24), and smokers. Also, women who reported “menses lasting longer than six days” also reported PMS (p. 36).Take help from telephone counseling .

These findings are consistent with previously published prevalence estimates and risk factors for PMS. What is unique about this study is the examination of obesity, which is an understudied risk factor for PMS. The researchers encourage health care providers to add obesity as a possible risk factor in their clinical contacts and efforts at PMS prevention and management. Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D., is associate professor of psychology at Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is co-author (with Lori A. Burkett) of the book, Sexual Identity: A Guide to Living in the Time Between the Times (University Press of America).