Sex differences in major depressive disorder have been a consistent research finding, with women receiving a diagnosis nearly twice as often as men. A substantive amount of research has attempted to address this preponderance. One area that warrants further investigation is the role that gender, a social construct that, in part, refers to the degree to which one enacts traditionally masculine and/or feminine traits, may play in mediating the relationship between sex and depressive symptoms. Secondary data analysis was conducted using a previously collected sample of undergraduate students from a moderately sized Midwestern university. Measures include the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression Scale (CES-D), and a demographic form used to assess self-reported expression of gender traits, depressive symptoms, and sex, respectively. Results of the present study indicate that masculinity and femininity mediate the relationship between sex and self-reported depressive symptoms.
","abstract_html":"<p>Sex differences in major depressive disorder have been a consistent research finding, with women receiving a diagnosis nearly twice as often as men. A substantive amount of research has attempted to address this preponderance. One area that warrants further investigation is the role that gender, a social construct that, in part, refers to the degree to which one enacts traditionally masculine and/or feminine traits, may play in mediating the relationship between sex and depressive symptoms. Secondary data analysis was conducted using a previously collected sample of undergraduate students from a moderately sized Midwestern university. Measures include the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression Scale (CES-D), and a demographic form used to assess self-reported expression of gender traits, depressive symptoms, and sex, respectively. Results of the present study indicate that masculinity and femininity mediate the relationship between sex and self-reported depressive symptoms.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Baluck, Tara A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Stephen Jefferson, PhD","Michelle Byrd, PhD","Natalie Dove, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z","subjects":["androgyny","depression","EPAQ","femininity","gender","masculinity","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/993","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Stephen Jefferson, PhD","Michelle Byrd, PhD","Natalie Dove, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Baluck, Tara A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-02-26T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["androgyny","depression","EPAQ","femininity","gender","masculinity","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/993"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Sex differences in major depressive disorder have been a consistent research finding, with women receiving a diagnosis nearly twice as often as men. A substantive amount of research has attempted to address this preponderance. One area that warrants further investigation is the role that gender, a social construct that, in part, refers to the degree to which one enacts traditionally masculine and/or feminine traits, may play in mediating the relationship between sex and depressive symptoms. Secondary data analysis was conducted using a previously collected sample of undergraduate students from a moderately sized Midwestern university. Measures include the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression Scale (CES-D), and a demographic form used to assess self-reported expression of gender traits, depressive symptoms, and sex, respectively. Results of the present study indicate that masculinity and femininity mediate the relationship between sex and self-reported depressive symptoms.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mediating effect of masculinity and femininity on the female preponderance in depression"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Stephen Jefferson, PhD","Michelle Byrd, PhD","Natalie Dove, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Baluck, Tara A."],"dc:date.available":["2020-02-26T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Sex differences in major depressive disorder have been a consistent research finding, with women receiving a diagnosis nearly twice as often as men. A substantive amount of research has attempted to address this preponderance. One area that warrants further investigation is the role that gender, a social construct that, in part, refers to the degree to which one enacts traditionally masculine and/or feminine traits, may play in mediating the relationship between sex and depressive symptoms. Secondary data analysis was conducted using a previously collected sample of undergraduate students from a moderately sized Midwestern university. Measures include the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression Scale (CES-D), and a demographic form used to assess self-reported expression of gender traits, depressive symptoms, and sex, respectively. Results of the present study indicate that masculinity and femininity mediate the relationship between sex and self-reported depressive symptoms.
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