Why are women more worried, anxious and depressed? A literature review

2009-05-28

Summary of a publication in Swedish

The prevalences of anxiety and depression are 1.5-3.0 times higher among women than men. The reasons for this sex difference have remained unclear. A broad review of literature was conducted, focusing on experiments and observational longitudinal studies in medicine and psychology. When appropriate, studies of weaker design, as well as studies from other disciplines, were included.

The results suggest that the sex differences are real, in that they cannot be fully explained by biased instrument or response bias. Socioeconomic inequality does not seem to be the main cause, since the sex differences in anxiety and depression have remained quite stable over time. It is instead probable that the most important explanation lies in biological differences and/or in sex roles. New studies are needed to settle which of these two explanations are more important.