Psychology Statistics data report project
Running head: GENDER AND STRESS AS PREDICTORS OF DEPRESSION 1
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression
Ana Marie Agee Booth
California Baptist University
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 2
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression
Over 17 million adults in the United States suffer from some sort of depression, making it
one of the most common mental illnesses in America. “Depression affects an estimated one in 15
adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at
some time in their life.” (What is Depression?). There are an overwhelming number of factors
that can lead to depressive symptoms in both men and women, one of which is said to be an
elevation in stress hormone disturbances. Both genders rely on different coping methods to
process stressors effectively and successfully in a manageable method. Thus, the purpose of this
study is to investigate gender as a predictor of depression controlling for stress.
Depression is defined as a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you
feel, the way you think and how you act and causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in
activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can
decrease your ability to function at work and at home (What is Depression?). Doctors and
scientists have studied depression for many years. They have conducted research on many
individual symptoms as well as clustered symptoms, in addition to the plethora of factors that
may be the cause of developing depressive symptoms. Many of the research studies identify
participants according to their gender and then their ages. For example, a recent study indicated
that depressive symptoms based on life stressors of medical interns ages twenty-six to thirty,
increased by 71% over a 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month time period (Fried, 2015). This particular study
consisted of a total of three thousand and twenty-one individuals, with 48.4% being male and
52.6% being female. Furthermore, both males and females explain their depressive symptoms
almost equally in terms of life stress as a causal factor of major depressive disorder, suggesting
that gender may not be a significant factor when correlating stress and depression.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 3
Literature Review
Stress. Stress is defined as the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope
as a result of pressures that are unmanageable (Stress MHF, 2021). At the very least, stress is our
body’s response to specific life events and/or situations (Sha, 2006). Social circumstances,
economic circumstances, environment, and genetics are all contributors to a person’s level of
stress. As the many contributions of stress can vary immensely from person to person, male and
female, it also varies in how responses are processed. Given the fact that positive and negative
life changes both have the ability to cause one to experience some form of stress, it would not be
surprising if stress factors such as divorce, job loss, death, or financial difficulties led to feelings
of depression. Stress factors are managed very differently among men and women. Both genders
typically report similar stress levels, yet report varying physical and emotional symptoms (Shih,
2004). Many of the symptoms of depression have a rather similar look as having life changing
stressors. Therefore, in order to properly understand the role of gender in predicting depression,
it is necessary to control for the likely influence of stressors.
Gender. The World Health Organization defines gender as the characteristics of women,
men, girls and boys that are socially constructed including norms, behaviors and roles associated
with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. In a socially
constructive manner, gender will vary from environment to environment and can change over
time. Gender is theorized to impact depression because one’s stress hormones and one’s genetics
offer largely influential factors that contribute to a mental illness such as depressive disorder.
Recent research has found that women are more likely than men to experience depression
(Zwicker & DeLongis, 2010). “Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a
major depressive episode in their lifetime.” (Hyde, 2020). There is a high degree of heritability
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 4
(approximately 40%) when first-degree relatives (parents/children/siblings) have depression
(Sowa & Lustman, 1984).
As existing research study on the relationship between gender and depression has been
conducted primarily focused on age groupings, the current study will extend the literature by
investigating whether gender predicts depression. The hypothesis is that gender will significantly
predict depression controlling for the influence of stressors.
Method
Participants
Participants were 101 adult college students enrolled in the Online and Professional
Studies division at California Baptist University (CBU). CBU is a private Christian university
located in Riverside, California with an enrollment of approximately 11,317 students on campus
and online. The age of the adult college student participants ranged from 18 to 54 years
(M=28.29, SD=7.41). Of the 101 participants, 88 were female (87%) and 12 were male (12%).
The Online and Professional Studies division at California Baptist University offers more than
40 fully online and fully accredited degree programs while also providing spiritual and social
development opportunities.
Measures
Sex/Gender. Respondents were asked to indicate their gender. Response options
included female (87%) and male (12%).
Stress. Adult college student’s levels of stress were measures using the DASS-21 Stress
Subscale, a four item self-report measure of stress levels in adult college students. Participants
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 5
responded to items indicating a stressed state (e.g., “I feel that I use a lot of nervous energy”) on
a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not apply to me at all) to 7 (most of the time).
Evidence of moderate to strong internal reliability has been found in previous studies, with
Chronbach’s alphas ranging from .59 to .81 (Osman et al. 2012). DASS-21 Stress subscale scores
are positively correlated with scores on a measure of mixed depression and anxiety/stress, thus
supporting the validity of the measure.
Factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in order to
examine the factor structure of the four-item scale.
Only one factor had an eigenvalue greater than 1, thus suggesting a one-factor solution
according to Kaiser’s K-1 rule. The first factor explained 57.57% of the variation in scores. A
scree test was also conducted in order to determine whether the scale represented a
unidimensional construct. The scree plot shows the point of inflection clearly at the second
component, thus suggesting a one-factor solution. Next, the component matrix was examined to
see whether all of the items loaded heavily onto the first factor. All four items had loadings with
absolute values over .40 on the first factor.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 6
Reliability analysis. Next, a reliability analysis was conducted in order to determine the
internal reliability of the stress level scale. This analysis produced a Chronbach’s alpha score of .
75, which was acceptable for psychometric purposes.
Distribution of composite scores. Finally, a composite score was created from the four-
item scale, generating a standardized (M=0.00, SD=1.00) stress level score for each adult college
student in the sample ranging from -1.52 to 2.71. The resulting distribution was slightly
leptokurtic with a moderate positive skew. Most of the respondents scored on the low to middle
end of the stress level scale with only a few indicating high levels of stress.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 7
Depression. Adult college student’s levels of depression were measured using the DASS-
21 Depression Subscale, a four item self-report measure of depression levels in adult college
students. Participants responded to items indicating a depressed state (e.g., “I feel that I have
nothing to look forward to”) on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not apply to me
at all) to 7 (most of the time). Evidence of moderate to strong internal reliability has been found
in previous studies, with Chronbach’s alphas ranging from .63-.70 (Osman et al. 2012). DASS-
21 depression subscale scores are positively correlated with scores on a measure of mixed
depression and anxiety/stress, thus supporting the validity of the measure.
Factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in order to
examine the factor structure of the four-item scale.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 8
Only one factor had an eigenvalue greater than 1, thus suggesting a one-factor solution
according to Kaiser’s K-1 rule. The first factor explained 71.74% of the variation in scores. A
scree test was also conducted in order to determine whether the scale represented a
unidimensional construct. The scree plot shows the point of inflection clearly at the second
component, thus suggesting a one-factor solution. Next, the component matrix was examined to
see whether all of the items loaded heavily onto the first factor. All four items had loadings with
absolute values over .40 on the first factor.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 9
Reliability analysis. Next, a reliability analysis was conducted in order to determine the
internal reliability of the depression level scale. This analysis produced a Chronbach’s alpha
score of .86, which was good for psychometric purposes.
Distribution of composite scores. Finally, a composite score was created from the four-
item scale, generating a standardized (M=0.00, SD=1.00) depression level score for each adult
college student in the sample ranging from -.81 to 3.48. The resulting distribution was
leptokurtic with a positive skew. Most of the respondents scored on the low end of the depression
level scale with only a few indicating high levels of depression.
.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 10
Procedure
The adult college students were administered the questionaires anonymously. All of the
students, majoring in psychology, were currently enrolled in the Online and Professional Studies
division of California Baptist University. The surveys were completed online, outside of
classroom hours and each student was given extra credit for completion of the online
questionaire.
Results
Descriptive Statistics
First, figures were constructed in order to visually examine the relationship between each
independent variable and the dependent variable. A boxplot was used to examine the
relationship between sex and depression because sex is a categorical predictor. A scatterplot was
used to examine the relationship between stress and depression because stress is a continuous
predictor.
A visual inspection of the boxplot revealed that the median depression level for females
appears to be similar to that of the males. There is more variability among the male scores than
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 11
the female scores. Some males scored relatively high, while the females scored somewhat low
with several potential outliers and otherwise unusual responses. A visual inspection of the
scatterplot revealed that there appeared to be a slight positive relationship between stress levels
and depression. In most cases, as stress levels increased, depression also increased. However,
some college students scored low on stress levels and also low on depression levels.
Next, a correlation test was conducted to examine the relationships between each
independent variable and the dependent variable. There was a significant moderate positive
correlation between stress and depression, r(96) = .49, p<.01. There was also a very small
positive correlation between gender and depression r(96) = .06, p=.59. The two independent
variables were not significantly correlated; thus, collinearity was not an issue in this model.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 12
Checking Assumptions
Homogeneity of variance. In order to test the assumptions, the analysis was run with
both independent variables included in the model. Predicted values and unstandardized residuals
were saved as new variables in the dataset. To test for homogeneity of variance, a scatterplot
was created with the predicted values on the x-axis and the residuals on the y-axis.
A visual inspection of the scatterplot revealed that the residuals are not evenly distributed
and there appears to be clusters and some slight fanning. This means that the model does not
have equally predictive power for individuals at both the high end and the low end of the
depression level scale. Thus, the assumption of homogeneity of variance is not supported.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 13
Normally distributed residuals. In order to determine whether residuals were normally
distributed, a histogram of the distribution was created with a normal curve superimposed on top.
A visual inspection of the histogram revealed that the residuals are not normally distributed.
Thus, the assumption of normally distributed residuals is not supported.
Multiple Regression Analysis
Finally, each of the output tables in the multiple regression analysis was interpreted in
order to determine whether my hypothesis was supported.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 14
The R2 coefficient was .26. This means that 26% of the variation in adult college
student’s depression levels are predicted by the model, while 74% of the variation was not
predicted by the model. The amount of predictive ability was determined to be substantively
significant.
The F-statistic was statistically significant, F(2, 93) = 16.28, p < .001, indicating that the
model results in significantly better predictions than those based solely on the mean.
This table reveals that stress level is a statistically significant predictor of adult college
student’s depression levels. Gender is not a statistically significant predictor of adult college
student’s depression levels, controlling for stress. Thus, my hypotheses is not supported.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 15
The regression equation for this model is:
ŷ = -.03 - .51x1 + .41x2
Where .03 is the expected depression level score for a student who has an average level of stress.
Controlling for stress, there is a .10 standard deviation decrease in gender which does not
correspond to a .03 standard deviation in depression levels.
Discussion
Based on the results, gender was not a significant predictor of depression, controlling for
stressors and my hypothesis was rejected thus being disconfirmed. This study consisted of 101
participants, 89 being female and 12 being male. This makes for an unbalanced participant pool,
especially when using gender as an independent variable. A more equally balanced selection of
participants would have led to significantly better and more accurate results. Although study
findings are certainly accurate, there are some limitations. First, this study used a wide range of
adults ages 18-54. I consider this a very strong limitation as young adults, whether male or
female, process stressors more immaturely than adults who have more life experience.
The results of this study correspond with the results in the 2015 study conducted by
Fried, in which males and female explained their depressive symptoms almost equally and
suggesting that gender may not be a significant factor when correlating stress and depression.
This study, in particular, can easily be generalized to the college and university
population by simply inferring the results from a sample population and applying it to the
population at large: Increasing the sample size to a population significantly larger than 101
college students and making the study more equal as far as gender.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 16
Many theorize that females have more life stressors and therefore suffer from depression
more than men, but these theories are just that and have not been shown to possess any statistical
significance.
Based on the results of this study, future researchers should follow a different
methodology to obtain more accurate and precise findings. Future researchers would benefit
from selecting an equal amount of male and female participants as well as separating the
participants into age groups. This will better serve additional future studies and set a more
specific path for future research to follow.
My data-based conclusion disputed my speculation that gender would play a large role in
stress and depression. In fact, this study somewhat drastically negated my initial hypothesis. I
strongly felt that women would definitely have more stressors and therefore higher levels of
depression. This was not in line with my referenced study or the present study. My overall
impression of this research study was actually quite surprising and I would be interested in
continuing it with a more specific range of participants to determine if there is any possibility of
truth to my initial investigation and research.
Gender and Stress as Predictors of Depression 17
Works Cited
Fried, E. I., Nesse, R. M., Guille, C., & Sen, S. (2015). The differential influence of life stress on individual symptoms of depression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 131(6), 465- 471. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12395
Hyde, J. S., & Mezulis, A. H. (2020). Gender differences in depression: Biological, affective, cognitive, and sociocultural factors. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 28(1), 4- 13. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000230
Sha, T. (2006). Optimism, Pessimism and Depression; The Relations and Differences by Stress Level and Gender. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 38(6), 886-901.
Shih, J. H.-F. (2004). Sociotropy/autonomy and depression: Gender differences and the mediating role of stressful life events ProQuest Information & Learning]. APA PsycInfo. http://libproxy.calbaptist.edu/login? url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2004-99010- 099&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Sowa, C. J., & Lustman, P. J. (1984). Gender differences in rating stressful events, depression, and depressive cognition. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40(6), 1334- 1337. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(198411)40:6<1334::AID- JCLP2270400609>3.0.CO;2-8
Stress. Mental Health Foundation. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to- z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20can%20be%20defined%20as,of%20pressures%20that %20are%20unmanageable.
What is Depression? American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients- families/depression/what-is-depression
Zwicker, A., & DeLongis, A. (2010). Gender, stress, and coping. In J. C. Chrisler & D. R. McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of gender research in psychology, Vol 2: Gender research in social and applied psychology. (pp. 495-515). Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1467-5_21