Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gender role socialization and adolescents' reports of depression: Why some girls and not others?

  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Previous research has noted a greater rate of depression among adolescent girls than boys (A. C. Petersen et al. [1993]; “Depression in Adolescence,” American Psychologist, Vol. 48, pp. 155–168; S. Nolen-Hoeksema [1987] “Sex Differences in Unipolar Depression,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 101, pp. 259–282). Explanations for this gender differential in adolescent reports of depressive symptomatology have been the focus of past scholarly attention (Petersen et al, 1993; D. B. Kandel and M. Davies [1982] “Epidemiology of Depressive Mood in Adolescents,” Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 39, pp. 1205–1232). Littk is known, however, about factors that underlie individual differences in adolescent girls' reports of depression. In this study, we explored individual differences in depressive symptoms as a function of young adolescent girls' gender role orientations (i.e., level of masculinity) and the degree of sex typing in their parents' marital roles. Participants were 89 seventh-and eighth-grade girls from white, rural, maritally intact families. Results revealed that girls who rated themselves as more masculine and their parents' marriage as more egalitarian were significantly lower in depression than other girls. Results of this study suggested that the potential positive effects of person characteristics associated with mental well-being (i.e., high masculinity) were moderated by family context (i.e., traditional families).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., and Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation.J. Abnorm. Psychol. 37: 49–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldous, J. (1977). Family interaction patterns.Ann. Rev. Sociol. 3: 105–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1963).Social Learning and Personality Development. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning.Educat. Psychol. 28: 117–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bem, S. L. (1976). The measurement of psychological androgyny.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 42: 155–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blood, R. O., and Wolf, D. M. (1960).Husbands and Wives: The Dynamics of Married Life. Free Press, Glencoe, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boldizar, J. P. (1991). Assessing sex typing and androgyny in children: The children's sex role inventory.Develop. Psychol. 27: 505–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U., and Crouler, A. C. (1983). The evolution of environmental models in developmental research. In Kessen, W. P. (ed.),History, Theory and Methods, Handbook of Child Psychology. Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., and Moffit, T. E. (1993). When do individual differences matter? A paradoxical theory of personality coherence.Psychol. Inq. 4: 247–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway, M., Giannopoulos, C., and Stiefenhofer, K. (1990). Response styles to sadness are related to sex and sex-role orientation.Sex Roles 22: 579–587.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craighead, L. W., and Green, B. H. (1989). Relationship between depressed mood and sex-typed personality characteristics in adolescents.J. Youth Adolesc. 18: 467–473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crockett, L. J., and Petersen, A. C. (1993). Adolescent development: Health risks and opportunities for health promotion. In Pierce, R. A., and Black, M. A. (eds.),Life-Span Development: A Diversity Reader. Kendall/Hunt, IA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crouter, A. C., Manke, B. A., and McHale, S. M. (1995). The family context of gender intensificalion in early adotescence.Child Develop. 66: 317–329.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., and Light, B. (1980). Learned helplessness and intellectual achievement. In Garber, J., and Seligman, M. (eds.),Human Helplessness: Theory and Applications. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., Flanagan, C., and Mac Iver, D. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and families.Am. Psychol. 48: 90–101.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emery, R. E. (1982). Interparental conflict and the children of discord and divorce.Psychol. Bull. 92: 310–330.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1968).Identity, Youth and Crisis. W. W. Norton, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferree, M. M. (1984). The view from below: Women's employment and gender equality in working-class families. In Hess, B. B., and Susman, M. B. (eds.)Women and Family: Two Decades of Change. Haworlh Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferree, M. M. (1991). The gender division of labor in two-earner marriages: Dimensions of variability and change. Special Issue: Gender and unpaid work.J. Family Issues 12: 158–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J. P., and Lynch, M. E. (1983). The intensification of gender-related role expectations during early adolescence. In Brooks-Gunn, J., and Petersen, A. C. (eds.),Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychological Perspectives. Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, D. E. (1975). Person-environment interaction: A challenge found wanting before it was tried.Rev. Educat. Res. 45: 209–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. B., and Davies, M. (1982). Epidemiology of depressive mood in adolescents.Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 39: 1205–1232.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Komter, A. (1989). Hidden power in marriage.Gender Soc. 3: 187–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1983). The children's depression inventory: A self-rated depression scale for school-age youngsters. Unpublished manuscript, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine.

  • Lerner, R. M. (1987). A life-span perspective for early adolescence. In Lerner, R. M., and Foch, T. T. (eds.),Biological-Psychosocial Interactions in Early Adolescence. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, J. V., and Lerner, R. (1993). Explorations of the goodness-of-fit model in early adolescence. In Carey, W. B., and McDevitt, S. C. (eds.),Prevention and Early Intervention: Individual Differences as Risk Factors for the Mental Health of Children: A Festschrift for Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas. Brunner/Mazel, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1987). Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory.Psychol. Bull. 101: 259–282.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S., and Seligman, M. E. P. (1991). Sex differences in depression and explanatory style in children.J. Youth Adolesc. 20: 233–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paikoff, R. L., Brooks-Gunn, J., and Warren, M. P. (1991). Effects of girls' hormonal status on depressive and aggressive symptoms over the course of one year.J. Youth Adolesc. 20: 191–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, A. C., Compas, B. E., Brooks-Gunn, J., Stemmler, M., Ey, S., and Grant, K. E. (1993). Depression in adolescence.Am. Psychol. 48: 155–168.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, A. C., Sarigiani, P. A., and Kennedy, R. E. (1991). Adolescent depression: Why more girls?J. Youth Adolesc. 20: 247–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1979). Protective factors in children's responses to stress and disadvantage. In Kent, M. W., and Rolfs, J. E. (eds.),Primary Prevention of Psychopathology: Social Competence in Children. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1983). Stress, coping and development: Some issues and some questions. In Garmezy, N., and Rutter, M. (eds),Stress, Coping and Development in Children. McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (1975).Helplessness: On Depression, Development and Death. W. H. Freeman, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, R. G., and Blyth, D. A. (1987).Moving into Adolescence: The Impact of Pubertal Change and School Context. Aldine de Gruyter, New York.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, USA

    Dawn A. Obeidallah (Postdoctaral fellow at Judge Baker Children's Hospital)

  2. The Pennsylvania State University, USA

    Susan M. McHale (Professor of Human Development and Family Studies)

  3. Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany

    Rainer K. Silbereisen (Professor and Head of the Institute of Psychology)

Authors
  1. Dawn A. Obeidallah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan M. McHale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rainer K. Silbereisen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

The research reported in this paper was supported by funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. We gratefully acknowledge the comments and help provided by Dr. Ann Crouler, Kimberly Updegraff, Alison Baker, and Sharon McGroder. We also would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their help on this work.

Received Ph.D. from Penn State University. Her research interests include adolescent development and psychopathology in relation to various contexts.

Received Ph.D. from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Her research interests include children and adolescents' family relationships.

Received Ph.D. from Universitaet Muenster and Technische Universitaet, Berlin. His research focuses on personality development in adolescence and young adulthood, utilizing cross-cultural perspectives.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Obeidallah, D.A., McHale, S.M. & Silbereisen, R.K. Gender role socialization and adolescents' reports of depression: Why some girls and not others?. J Youth Adolescence 25, 775–785 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537453

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537453

Keywords

Search

Navigation