Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms and Their Relation to Personality Traits

大學生憂鬱的性別差異及人格對憂鬱性別差異之影響

10.29478/TJP.200912.0005

姚怡君(Yi-Chun Yao)；陳景彥(Ching-Yen Chen)

憂鬱 ； 性別差異 ； 人格 ； depression ； gender differences ； personality

台灣精神醫學

23卷4期（2009 / 12 / 01）

284 - 295

英文

目的：過去研究顯示憂鬱及憂鬱症狀在女性較男性普遍。人格特質，尤其是神經質，在憂鬱的性別差異上可能是一重要因素。本研究想探討憂鬱的性別差異是否為憂鬱量表所導致。方法：本研究對北部550位大學生以兩種不同的自填憂鬱問卷：Gotland男性憂鬱量表(GMDS)和Beck憂鬱量表(BDI)來評估性別差異對憂鬱的影響。中文版Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ)同時用來評估憂鬱個案在人格特質有無性別差異。結果：以Gotland男性憂鬱量表(GMDS)或Beck憂鬱量表(BDI)兩種量表篩檢出的憂鬱個案在憂鬱的盛行率上並無性別差異。以Gotland男性憂鬱量表(GMDS)篩檢出的憂鬱個案在TPQ的三項人格特質中並無性別差異存在；以Beck憂鬱量表(BDI)篩檢出的女性憂鬱個案在reward dependence的分數顯著高於男性憂鬱個案。無論是男性或女性憂鬱個案，harm avoidance的分數和憂鬱嚴重度有顯著相關性。結論：本研究以兩種自填憂鬱量表篩選出的憂鬱個案中無法顯現性別差異的原因可能為研究族群年紀輕及社會背景同質性高。

Objectives: Results of previous studies have suggested that depression and depressive symptoms are more prevalent in females than in males. Gender differences in personality factors, especially neuroticism, may play a key role in the gender difference in depression. But it is possible that instruments to measure depression are gender-biased. The aims of this study were to detect depressive symptoms and gender differences using different screening instruments and to further examine their relation to personality traits. Methods: The study sample consisted of 550 young male and female university students in northern Taiwan. We studied the role of gender in depression with the Chinese version of the Gotland Male Depression Scale (GMDS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). We also used the Chinese version of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) to investigate the gender difference in novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence in depressed subjects. Results: No gender differences were found in prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among the self-reported depressed subjects using the GMDS or the BDI. No gender differences existed in all three TPQ dimensions in depressed subjects using the GMDS. With the BDI, we found that only total scores of reward dependence were significantly higher among female than among male depressed subjects and that significant correlations existed between HA scores and severity of depression in both genders. Conclusions: The subjects with the younger ages and the relatively homogeneous social backgrounds in this study may not explain the gender differences in self-reported depression.

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