Title : Gender identity and depression
Abstract:
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide. Depression involves intense feelings of sadness that endure long enough to interfere with one’s daily life and manifest differently in men and women according to social, biological, and psychological factors. For example, by hegemonic convention depression in men could be signaled by personal failure because men are supposed to be in control at all times. In this sense, males are taught to suppress emotional displays. It can result in the underlying depression going untreated, which can have serious consequences such as alcohol consumption or suicide. However, many researchers asume that men’s mental health can be explained in the same terms as women’s or can be gauged using the same measures. Not only does one have sex, but institutionalized social discourses and practices construct one's own identity. In this way, social constructions of gender mediate how we think, feel, and act. In this context, the present study aims to understand the relationship between experiences of masculinity and femininity and depression. The results show that hegemonic constructions of gender have a bidirectional relationship with depression. Gender identity is normalized through social institutions such as the family and the community and exerts psychological pressure that affects both women and men through the differential significance of bodies and moral qualities. These pressures generate feelings of shame and loneliness and lead the person to depression. The study also shows protective factors against depression in males and females.
What will audience learn from your presentation?
• This presentation will clear up some myths about the gender framework in mental health settings. It can have a positive impact on the specialist's attitudes towards himself and his patients as human beings. As specialists understand the roots of gender differences in depression, it may help explain other disorders, such as addictive behaviors in men.
• This presentation can strengthen the skills of mental health specialists to recognize, diagnose and treat depression from a gender framework. This can be expressed in the design of interviews and questionnaires.
• One of the objectives is to promote the use of the gender framework in the promotion of mental health.
