Family Roles and Sex Differences in Depression

Although one of the most consistent findings in research on' depression is a higher prevalence among women, the origins of this sex difference remain unclear. This study examines the relationship of family and work roles to sex differences in depression. The data for the study consist of interviews from a large-scale community survey (N = 1,000) on the epidemiology of depression, conducted in Los Angeles County during 1979. Overall, the women were significantly more depressed than the men, but the extent of the sex difference varied according to the specific constellation of family and work roles. There were significant sex differences in depression among the two conditions of high family role demands: parents with children in the household, and single parents. The difference was not significant among parents whose children lived elsewhere, or among nonparents. Among parents with children in the household, employed men were less depressed than either employed women or homemakers; these two groups of women did not differ significantly from each other in depression level. The results suggest that family and work roles tend to be associated with reduced depression among both men and women, but that the effect is greater for men.