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Examining Gender Differences in the Roles of Meaning in Life and Interpersonal Expectancies in Depressive Symptoms

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Abstract

In the present study, we examined for gender differences in meaning in life (viz., presence of and searching for) and interpersonal expectancies (viz., positive and negative) as additive and interactive predictors of depressive symptoms in a sample of 117 male and 132 female college students. We found that meaning in life accounted for a significant amount of variance in depressive symptoms for both men and women. While presence of meaning in life was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms for both groups, it was a stronger predictor among women compared to men. Furthermore, we found that interpersonal expectancies accounted for additional variance in depressive symptoms above and beyond meaning in life for both groups, and interestingly, only positive interpersonal expectancy emerged as a significant predictor of depressive symptoms. Finally, the interactions involving meaning in life and interpersonal expectancies accounted for a significant amount of additional variance above and beyond the main effects for both men and women. However, a greater number of significant interactions emerged for women than for men. Implications of the present findings for understanding gender differences in meaning in life and interpersonal expectancies as predictors of depressive symptoms are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Elizabeth A. Yu, Edward C. Chang, Tina Yu, Sarah C. Bennett & Erin E. Fowler

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  1. Elizabeth A. Yu
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  2. Edward C. Chang
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  3. Tina Yu
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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. Yu or Edward C. Chang.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Yu, E.A., Chang, E.C., Yu, T. et al. Examining Gender Differences in the Roles of Meaning in Life and Interpersonal Expectancies in Depressive Symptoms. Gend. Issues 34, 203–222 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9174-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9174-5

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