Depression in the Gender Constructs of Men and Women Essay

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States affecting both males and females of varying ages. Depression, or a depressive illness, involves intense feelings of sadness that endure long enough to interfere with one’s daily life (Zartaloudi, 2011). Depression manifests differently in men and women according to social, biological, and psychological factors. While a family history of depression, among other biological bases underlying this mental disorder, acts as the common denominator between men and women, personality traits and one’s social environment largely facilitate the differences in how depression manifests between men and women. A critical review of the social construct of masculinity and the social construct and biological root of femininity demonstrates how depression manifests differently in men and women. Depression in the Gender Constructs of Men and Women Essay