Subject Age and Gender as Predictors of Life Stress, Attributional Style, and Personal Adjustment.

N

24

Adjustment (to Environment); Adolescent Development; Depression (Psychology); Emotional Adjustment; Emotional Problems; Foreign Countries; Self Concept Measures; Self Esteem; Sex Differences; Social Support Groups; Young Adults

This study was conducted to investigate whether women are in fact more depressed than comparable samples of men, as per the stereotype, and/or whether women could be seen as suffering from higher levels of related forms of maladjustment as compared to those of men. Male and female subjects (60 adolescents, 82 young adults, and 82 middle-aged persons) completed measures of attributional style, life event history, and social supports, as well as measures of present adjustment. Instrumentation included the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, Perlin Mastery Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory. Depression and maladjustment generally were considerably greater among the adolescent subjects. However, when the age group of the subject was taken into account, results with such measures did not clearly support the stereotyped view of the "depressed female," nor the usefulness of the most common interpretations of maladjustment or depression, particularly as these might be applied to women. Some implications of such findings are discussed. Thirty-three references and three tables are attached. (Author/TE)

1990

ED314703