20000327

Chronic strain

linked to

depression in

women

ISLAMABAD: The chronic strain caused by daily stresses and lower social power may explain why women are more likely than men to experience depression.

Women's personalities and the negative aspects in their environments tend to feed each other so that over time, they are more likely to develop depressive symptoms than men are, Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a psychologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said.

Women experience chronic strain more often and are more likely to feel powerless and to dwell on their emotions, Nolen-Hoeksema and her colleagues report in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

According to the researchers, the daily strains of work in and out of the home, coupled with feeling unappreciated by their partners, cause women to regularly think about their feelings; in turn, these thoughts feed stress. "It's a vicious cycle," Nolen-Hoeksema said.

The investigators studied 1,100 men and women between the ages of 25 and 75, interviewing them once at the beginning of the study and again one year later. Participants were asked about factors involved in daily strains, such as hours spent at work and doing household chores, caring for children and other family members, the division of household responsibilities, and whether they felt appreciated in their relationships.

The researchers also assessed the subjects' feelings of control over their lives and whether they used "ruminative coping" - repeatedly thinking about their depressed feelings rather than actively doing something to change them.

Other studies have shown that women are about twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with clinical depression, Nolen-Hoeksema noted. "We wanted to look at not only why women experience depression more," she said, "but also at what conditions keep women bound up in their depression."

They found that chronic strain, feelings of helplessness, and ruminative coping were all more common among women. Chronic strain, according to the report, seems to cause women to constantly think about their feelings, which only worsens the strain.

Feelings of helplessness in life make women more likely to passively dwell on their emotions rather than taking steps to improve their environments.

This, the researchers conclude, suggests that women "carry a triad of vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms."

Social conditions also play an important role in women's depressive symptoms. "We shouldn't just put it on the individual woman to buck up and do something" about her depression, Nolen-Hoeksema said.

Helping women gain greater control and solve their problems rather than dwell on them should help combat depression, the investigators suggest.ÑAPP