NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Feeling loved and supported by family and friends
appears to protect women -- but not men -- from major depression, new research
reports.
In a study of more than 1,000 opposite sex twin pairs, investigators found
that women who felt they had relatively little social support had a higher risk
of major depression, a condition that affects women more than men. The
perception of social support had a much smaller influence on men's risk of
depression, the authors report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Lead author Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler said that women are "often socialized to
develop their sense of self from their relationships or the quality of their
relationships." As a result, when women feel that their relationships are poor,
this has an enormous influence on their emotional well being, he noted. "The
effect on women is pretty potent," he told Reuters Health.
Men, in contrast, may often derive their sense of self worth from their
achievements, such as doing well at work or in certain activities, said Kendler.
Despite this gender difference, Kendler said he was "surprised" to see that
social relationships had such little effect on men. "Men really seem to be
impervious (to a lack of social support), with respect to depression," he said.
During the study, Kendler and his colleagues at the Medical College of
Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond interviewed 1,057 pairs
of opposite sex twins about their sense of social support. The researchers
re-contacted the twins at least 1 year later, to determine whether or not they
were depressed.
To assess levels of social support, the investigators asked men and women how
much they felt family and friends listened to them, understood their feelings,
and helped them out if they needed it.
The investigators found that women reported having higher levels of overall
social support than men did. However, men felt more supported by their spouses
and co-twins.
Kendler noted that support from family and spouses appeared to mean somewhat
more to women than support from friends.
"It is a deep human need to be loved and cared for," Kendler said. "Our
mental health will not do well if we're in an environment where our needs are
not being filled."
SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry, February 2005
