Sex differences in the relationship between social support and risk for major depression: A longitudinal study of opposite-sex twin pairs
Sex differences in the relationship between social support and risk for major depression: A longitudinal study of opposite-sex twin pairs
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DOI：
10.1176/appi.ajp.162.2.250
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发表时间：
2005-02-01
影响因子：
17.7
通讯作者：
Prescott, CA
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kendler, KS;Myers, J;Prescott, CA
目的：与男性相比，女性拥有更大、更亲密的社交网络，患重度抑郁症的比例也更高。先前的研究表明，女性对低社会支持的抑郁影响更敏感，但这些研究大多数在方法上有很大的局限性。方法：在相隔至少1年的两次访谈中，对1057对基于人群登记的异性异卵双胞胎进行了评估。作者通过第一波社会支持水平的评估，预测了第二波访谈前一年患重度抑郁症的风险。结果：女性报告的全球社会支持水平高于她们的双胞胎兄弟。在第一波的全球社会支持中，女性比男性更能预测第二波的严重抑郁风险，当分析控制了第一波之前一年的严重抑郁史时，也能看到同样的效果。女性比男性更容易受到低水平社会支持的影响，尤其是来自同卵双胞胎、其他亲属、父母和配偶的支持。社会支持水平并不能解释重度抑郁症风险的性别差异。结论：情感上支持的社会关系对女性比男性更能预防重度抑郁症。虽然这些影响不能解释性别对重度抑郁症患病率的影响，但它们确实表明了风险途径中的重要性别差异。需要澄清低社会支持与妇女抑郁之间的因果关系的性质。
Objective: Compared to men, women have larger and more intimate social networks and higher rates of major depression. Prior studies have suggested that women are more sensitive to the depressogenic effects of low social support, but most of these studies had substantial methodologic limitations.Method: In two interview waves at least 1 year apart, 1,057 pairs of opposite- sex dizygotic twin pairs ascertained from a population-based register were assessed. The authors predicted risk of major depression in the year before the wave 2 interview from levels of social support assessed at wave 1.Results: Women reported higher levels of global social support than their twin brothers. Global social support at wave 1 predicted risk for major depression at wave 2 significantly more strongly in female than in male members of these pairs, and the same effect was seen when the analysis controlled for the history of major depression in the year prior to wave 1. Women were more sensitive than men to the depressogenic effects of low levels of social support, particularly from the co-twin, other relatives, parents, and spouses. Levels of social support did not explain the sex difference in risk for major depression.Conclusions: Emotionally supportive social relationships are substantially more protective against major depression for women than for men. While these effects cannot explain sex effects on the prevalence of major depression, they do suggest important sex differences in pathways of risk. Clarification of the nature of the causal links between low social support and depression in women is needed.