Abstract
This study used the item response theory-based log-likelihood-ratio technique for differential item functioning (IRT-LR DIF) to determine gender differences in seven add-on major depressive episode criteria in Thai people living in community. Of a population of 17,480 Thai people living in community, 322 men (3.79%) and 487 women (5.63%) currently were of depressed mood and/or anhedonia. Of seven symptoms, only cognitive deficit had a statistically significant DIF (G 2 of 7.3, df = 2, p = 0.007; Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p = 0.049). The uniform DIF suggested that men had a significantly but marginally lower threshold value for endorsing cognitive deficit than women (threshold difference = −0.25). While the discrimination parameters of this cognitive symptom were greater than 2.0 (men = 2.10 and women = 2.29), their difference was as low as −0.19. Most depressed symp-toms have similar criterion functioning in both genders. However, Thai men may be more likely to have a cognitive deficit than their female counterparts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ben-Zeev, D., & Young, M. A. (2010). Accuracy of hospitalized depressed patients’ and healthy controls’ retrospective symptom reports: an experience sampling study. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 198(4), 280–285. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181d6141f.
Bogner, H. R., & Gallo, J. J. (2004). Are higher rates of depression in women accounted for by differential symptom reporting? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39(2), 126–132. doi:10.1007/s00127-004-0714-z.
Brugha, T. S., Jenkins, R., Taub, N., Meltzer, H., & Bebbington, P. E. (2001). A general population comparison of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Psychological Medicine, 31(6), 1001–1013.
Cameron, I. M., Crawford, J. R., Lawton, K., & Reid, I. C. (2013). Differential item functioning of the HADS and PHQ-9: an investigation of age, gender and educational background in a clinical UK primary care sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 147(1–3), 262–268. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.015.
Carragher, N., Mewton, L., Slade, T., & Teesson, M. (2011). An item response analysis of the DSM-IV criteria for major depression: findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Journal of Affective Disorders, 130(1–2), 92–98. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.09.033.
Hair, J. F., Jr., Black, D. W., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Junsirimongkol, B., Kittirattanapaiboon, P., Khamwongpin, M., Chutha, W., Kongsuk, T., & Leejongpermpoon, J. (2011). The prevalence and psychiatric co-morbidity of alcohol use disorders in Thailand: National Epidemiological Survey 2008. Journal of Mental Health of Thailand, 19, 88–102.
Lai, C.-H. (2011). Major depressive disorder: gender differences in symptoms, life quality, and sexual function. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 31(1), 39–44. doi:10.1097/JCP.0b013e318205a670.
Latvala, A., Castaneda, A. E., Perälä, J., Saarni, S. I., Aalto-Setälä, T., Lönnqvist, J., … Tuulio-Henriksson, A. (2009). Cognitive functioning in substance abuse and dependence: a population-based study of young adults. Addiction, 104(9), 1558–1568. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02656.x
Martin, L. A., Neighbors, H. W., & Griffith, D. M. (2013). The experience of symptoms of depression in men vs women: analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(10), 1100–1106. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.1985.
Medina, K. L., Shear, P. K., Schafer, J., Armstrong, T. G., & Dyer, P. (2004). Cognitive functioning and length of abstinence in polysubstance dependent men. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 19(2), 245–258. doi:10.1016/S0887-6177(03)00043-X.
Schuch, J. J. J., Roest, A. M., Nolen, W. A., Penninx, B. W. J. H., & de Jonge, P. (2014). Gender differences in major depressive disorder: results from the Netherlands study of depression and anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders, 156, 156–163. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.12.011.
Sheehan, D. V., Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, K. H., Amorim, P., Janavs, J., Weiller, E., … Dunbar, G. C. (1998). The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): the development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 59 Suppl 20, 22-33-57.
Srisurapanont, M., Kittiratanapaiboon, P., Likhitsathian, S., Kongsuk, T., Suttajit, S., & Junsirimongkol, B. (2012). Patterns of alcohol dependence in Thai drinkers: a differential item functioning analysis of gender and age bias. Addictive Behaviors, 37(2), 173–178. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.09.014.
Srisurapanont, M., Bautista, D., Chen, C.-H., Wang, G., Udomratn, P., & Eurviriyanukul, K. (2015). Subjective memory and concentration deficits in medication-free, non-elderly Asians with major depressive disorder: prevalence and their correlates. Journal of Affective Disorders, 171, 105–110. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.09.007.
Steinberg, L., & Thissen, D. (2006). Using effect sizes for research reporting: examples using item response theory to analyze differential item functioning. Psychological Methods, 11(4), 402–415. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.11.4.402.
Teresi, J. A. (2006). Different approaches to differential item functioning in health applications. Advantages, disadvantages and some neglected topics. Medical Care, 44(11 Suppl 3), S152–S170. doi:10.1097/01.mlr.0000245142.74628.ab.
Thissen, D. (2001). IRTLRDIF v.2.0b: software for the computation of the statistics involved in item response theory likelihood-ratio tests for differential item functioning. Chapel Hill (NC): L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory.
Udomratn, P., & Kittirattanapaiboon, P. (2004). The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Thai version). Bangkok: Graphic Hut.
Uebelacker, L. A., Strong, D., Weinstock, L. M., & Miller, I. W. (2009). Use of item response theory to understand differential functioning of DSM-IV major depression symptoms by race, ethnicity and gender. Psychological Medicine, 39(4), 591–601. 10.1017/S0033291708003875.
Weinstock, L. M., Strong, D., Uebelacker, L. A., & Miller, I. W. (2009). Differential item functioning of DSM-IV depressive symptoms in individuals with a history of mania versus those without: an item response theory analysis. Bipolar Disorders, 11(3), 289–297. doi:10.1111/j.1399-5618.2009.00681.x.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the survey team of the Department of Mental Health for collecting the data. We are grateful for the proofreading assistant given by Joan Elizabeth Peagam.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Funding
The Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand provided budget for the 2008 Thai National Mental Health Survey. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflict of interest
Manit Srisurapanont has received research grants from Lundbeck and Servier and speaker/advisory board honoraria from GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck, and Servier.
Phunnapa Kittiratanapaiboon, Narong Maneeton, Thoranin Kongsuk, Benchalak Maneeton, and Boonsiri Junsirimongkol declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Informed consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Srisurapanont, M., Kittiratanapaiboon, P., Maneeton, N. et al. Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms in Thai Individuals with Depressed Mood and/or Anhedonia: A Differential Item Functioning Approach. Int J Ment Health Addiction 15, 493–502 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-016-9720-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-016-9720-0