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Sophie Sipprell
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
November 9, 2016
Gender Differences in Depression: Whats the Cause?

My sister was fifteen when she was diagnosed with depression, shortly after my parents
divorce. As a child, I looked up to her a lot since she is my older and only sibling. When she was
diagnosed with depression, it was hard to watch. It changed her tremendously. She was
constantly tired, easily irritable and noticeable sad. With depression, she wasnt the same sister I
knew. She couldnt help it. Depression interferes with daily normal functioning. When she was
first diagnosed, I did not know what depression really was, which prompted me to look it up. To
my understanding, depression is a psychological disorder that is caused by a chemical imbalance
in the brain where certain neurotransmitters called monoamines (serotonin, dopamine, and
norepinephrine) do not work correctly or their amounts are reduced (Nauert PhD). Its impact on
my family was tremendous and unforgettable. Watching someone you love suffer is hard to
watch. It creates a lot of stress and pain. Hopefully, if recognized early on, it can be treated and
the suffering can be minimalized.
Seeing how depression affected my sister initiated a curiosity in me about it. We are only
two years apart in age and were both impacted similarly by our parents divorce. How did she
become diagnosed with depression while I did not? Since we are the closest to each other
genetically, there must be other factors besides DNA that influence depression. How does it
occur? Why does it happen? As explained by Stephanie Faris, the author of Is Depression
Genetic?, genetics are a factor in about 40% of overall cases of depression. This has been

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determined by looking at the link between identical twins. Their genetic make-up is exactly the
same so scientists look at the rate of which both identical twins are diagnosed with depression.
From this data, scientist conclude that the risk of someone getting depression is two to three
times higher if they have a parent or sibling with depression compared to the average person.
The rate for the siblings or children of someone with recurrent depression, or depression that
occurs multiple times after symptoms disappear for a while (Mul), is four or five times higher
than the average person. The exact genes that cause depression are unknown, but it is believed
that it is not just due to one gene (Levison MD). This goes to show how complex depression is.
Along with genetic factors that influence depression, there are external or environmental factors
that make up the other 60% of cases. Faris described these other influential factors of the
environment as being family, school, and gender. My family does not have a history of
depression so the likelihood of my sister getting depression through genetics is low. This lead to
the question of what external factors impacted my sister that did not so much impact me?
One of the main differences was that my sister was in high school. High school is a big
transitioning time where you figure out your identity while gaining a greater understanding of
gender roles and the social hierarchy that has been created by society. This transition may be due
in part to factors, such as hormones and social media. My sister was starting to mature and hit
puberty at the time of the divorce. The negative effects and emotions from the divorce could
have altered the chemicals in her brain, causing there to be an imbalance. Stressful life events are
a cause for depression (Harvard Health Publications). High school is where people find the group
they fit well with and, because of societys influence, they aim to be a part of the popular
group. The social pressure that arises from social media and other students can be a lot on
someone, especially if you do not fit into their idea of normal. My sister was never an outcast,

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but kids can be harsh to each other. With her also going through the emotions of our parents
splitting, the comments friends made couldve hit a lot harder than they normally would have.
During this time, my sister started to change. She has always slept a lot, but she started
sleeping more. She wouldnt be as active as she used to be and was on social media a lot. She
also became easily irritable. After looking up symptoms of depression, I saw that these were
common signs of depression. Other symptoms include constant sadness, feelings of helplessness
and worthlessness, low energy, weight changes and thoughts of suicide (NIMH). Those are just
some of the many symptoms.; there are still symptoms that we dont know. Another cause of
depression could be its comorbidity. Depression can be comorbid, or coexist, with other disease,
such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and Parkinsons disease. The medications for these disease
can cause depression and the disease can worsen the case of depression or vice versa (Mul).
As I was researching depression, I discovered that the rate of depression in teenage girls
is higher than that of teenage boys (Rattue). This made me question if gender had to do why my
sister was diagnosed with depression. Since depression can be linked with other diseases, maybe
the gender difference lies there. When looking at the rate of heart disease, males have an
undoubtedly higher rate. Heart disease can be related to diabetes. Males used to lead in this area
but now as the rates of diabetes in males is decreasing, the rate for females remains the same.
Since depression is more common in women, the chronicity of the case may be worse for women
with diabetes than men with diabetes (Gebel PhD). When it comes to diabetes, middle-aged and
older adults have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, whereas type 1 diabetes is more
common in young children and young adults. However, with bad habits with health becoming
more widespread, diabetes is starting to affect younger people. A study mentioned in the article
suggested that the number of people under the age of 20 with type 2 diabetes could increase by

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49 percent by 2050 (Cherney). As for heart disease, it is most common in older men. The risk for
men increases after the age of 45 and the average age for having the first heart attack is 66
(Thompson Jr.). Like the source mentioned for diabetes, the article is not written by a person
with medical credentials; however, the articles are medically reviewed by people with doctorates.
There is still a lot we dont know when it comes to the causes of cancer. Scientists have
identified some carcinogen, or factors that influence the likelihood of cancer, but the exact
causes are still unknown. There are many different types of cancer, some only affecting women
(cervical cancer) and others only affecting men (prostate and testicular cancer). Cervical cancer
rarely affects women under the age of 20 and is most commonly diagnosed in women between
the ages 35 and 55. This a very preventable type of cancer since it develops over time and its
death rate decreases at about two percent every year. Tests like PAP smears making the detection
earlier, which is essential to surviving cancer (NCCC). The American Cancer Society states that
prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men. ACS provides informative statistics
on its website, like how prostate cancer mainly affects older men, the average age of diagnosis
being 66 and that it is the second leading cause of death in men, behind lung cancer. However,
most men who are diagnosed from it are treated and do not die from it. Contrary to prostate
cancer, the American Cancer Society informs that testicular cancer is not as common and affects
mainly middle aged men (average 33 years old) with 7 percent of cases being in children and
teens and 7 percent of cases being in men over the age of 55. The death risk from this type of
cancer is low. Cancer can be linked to depression because it a very emotionally traumatizing and
stressful situation. Having advanced cancer and taking certain medications, such as
corticosteroids and procarbazine, can increase the risk of depression (NIH). Also comorbid to
depression is Parkinsons disease. According to the Parkinsons Disease Foundation, about 60%

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of the people with Parkinsons are affected by depression. Like most of these disease, this does
not really effect young adults, the average age affected being 60. Are there other diseases linked
with depression that do?
Eating disorders and anxiety disorders are connected with depression. They also mainly
affect women. The most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. A four-year
longitudinal study cited in the article by Mul showed that the risk for binge eating is the highest
at the age 16 and the risk for purging is the highest at 18. Mul suggests this is because at these
times girls are very aware of their appearances. She also goes on to describe the great lengths
girls will go to be desired by the opposite sex, but she doesnt give any specific examples of that.
However, she says these lengths can create severe depressive cognitions. With anxiety
disorders, Mul states that comorbidity between this and depression could lead to the reason why
women are more susceptible to depression than men. She cites Hankin and Abramson (2001), in
which they state that girls develop anxiety disorders earlier and at a faster rate than boys, such
that by age 6, twice as many girls have experienced an anxiety disorder. This statistic stuck out
to me because of the age. Six years old is incredibly young and for girls to already be exposed
two times more likely to a mental disorder is astonishing.
Depression is due to a mix of factors, one being a chemical imbalance in the brain, so I
wanted to look at what things could cause the imbalance that might only affect girls. This could
explain the depression rate difference. Birth control was one of those factors. Birth control
inserts hormones into your body, which could affect the ones that are already in there. Teenagers
can be especially sensitive to this because of their sensitivity to hormonal changes during
puberty. They have not created an equivalent for men, so maybe this is a reason why the rate of

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depression is higher in teenage girls. The use of contraceptives, including birth control, is rising
(cite this). However, the article that mentions this says that the link could just be correlation.
From most of the articles I read, social media is mentioned as a source of influence on
depression. The ideas of normal and cool that high schoolers use to classify people have to
come from somewhere and one of those places is social media. At the time of my parents
divorce, Facebook and Tumblr were two big social media sites my sister used frequently. Since I
was not old enough yet (my parents made me wait until I was 13) . I did not experience the
influence of social media in the same way my sister did. Social media is a huge platform that
defines the status quo and teenagers are exposed to an increased expectation to conform to the
standards that society sets, specifically girls (Beattle). There are so many outlets and
advertisements that create an impossible image of beauty. Young girls growing up look at
these images and begin to feel that there is something wrong with them because they do not look
that way. This causes girls to become self-conscious about how they look at a very young age.
The faade that social media accounts portray also affect the way teens view themselves. Social
media provides a way for one to present their best self. If someone sees all the great things other
people are doing, they could become depressed and envious as they start to value their worth
based on likes and comments on their posts. This aspect of social media I feel affects girls more
than guys since girls are taught to care more about their image. Ive even had a guy friend tell me
that if a girl doesnt get more than 200 likes on Instagram, he wouldnt be interested in her. This
thought process is not a way to describe everyone, but it does show how there is still that
mentality in society on the way a woman should be and act. A survey conducted by the Pew
Research Center backs up my belief, stating that girls are more likely to use social media sites
and platforms. Society is now changing to where gender roles are becoming less defined. Social

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media and video games are becoming less specific to one gender. If social media is a cause of
depression, the difference in the depression rate may decrease if females and males start using it
the same amount. This is very likely since kids are now immersed in a culture that is heavily
influenced by social media.
Not only does social media impact self-image, it also affects other influencing factors
that can lead to depression such as sleep and cyberbullying. My sister would stay up late on
social media and be on there for hours. The teenage years are an important time for social and
brain development. Lack of sleep can be detrimental since it is an important factor for brain
development. Another negative of social media that could impact depression is cyberbullying.
People get a sense of being invincible from behind a screen and say whatever they want without
thinking of the consequences. The American College of Pediatricians has found that over half
of adolescents state that they have been bullied online and over 25% of them state that they have
been bullied repeatedly through the internet or on cell phones. Having someone constantly put
you down and make you feel terrible about yourself on the internet can lead to psychological
issues, including depression, anorexia and self-harm. The fear of reject and not being accepted
can lead to anxiety disorders, like social phobia (Mul). These factors would have affected my
sister a lot more than me since I was not yet on social media and subjected to this social culture.
Since depression is not completely genetic, it is likely that the difference in the rate of
depression in teens could be due to how females and males interact differently with their
surroundings. While researching the impact of social media on depression, I began to see and
think about how different genders use social media differently. As mentioned before the research
done by the Pew Research Center said that girls are about 20 percent more likely to use social
media. They also state that boys are about 20 percent more likely to play video games. My step

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brothers definitely support this study. They are extremely into video games and did not really get
into social media until last year. My step brothers parents are also divorced but they went
through it at a younger age than my sister and I. Neither of them are diagnosed with depression;
however, they had a lot of violence and behavioral issues at the time, most likely because of the
frustration and hurt from the situation. My sister and I were never really involved with video
games and when my sister was diagnosed, she was using multiple social media sites.
After looking at all the external differences that are linked to depression, I looked
into the statistics of it. The SAMHSA Nation Survey on Drug Use and Health did a study that
showed the risk for teenage girls from the ages 12-17 were three times higher than that of
teenage boys. Another study observed that young women between the ages of 15 and 18 were
twice as likely to have depression (Beattle). Although the rate of depression in teens differs, the
chronicity, or how severe the case is, is about the same for teenage boys and girls (Salk).
Depression may affect genders at different rates depending on the age, but it has the same impact
on its victims. My sister was 15 when she was diagnosed. It is amazing how little things such as
social media use and age can be so significant when it comes to depression. Would it have been
different if my sister was a boy? There is no way to know for sure but the risk is greater as a
female. One study suggested in the article by Steingard the possibility that the difference may be
due to past gender roles. Women were mothers and wired to be more nurturing, whereas, the
men were taught to be hunters and provide for their families. Steingard shuts this possibility
down by saying that gender roles are changing more so that both males and females are providers
and caretakers, but the rate of depression has not increased, meaning that the changing of gender
roles does not affect the risk of depression in females. With depression, there doesnt seem to be
just reason as to why the rate is higher in teenage girls. I suppose to follows to complexity of the

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disorder itself. Scientists are still working on uncovering the mysteries of the disorder, like how
the effectively treat it and the role of monoamines. It has been believed for a long time that
depression is due to a monoamine deficiency. This claim has been challenged as medications to
treat the deficiency are only moderately effective. Scientists are now researching the role of
monoamines in depression in hopes to create more effective medication.

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Works Cited
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Faris, Stephanie. "Is Depression Genetic?" Msn. N.p., 23 May 2014. Web. 8 Nov. 2016.
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