Gender Differences in the Attribution of Causes for Depressed Feelings

Abstract

30 male and 32 female undergraduates were asked to report over a 10-day period whether they had felt depressed and, if yes, what was causing their depressed feelings. As predicted from a sex-role framework, the men were more likely than the women to attribute the cause to academic concerns while the women were more likely than the men to attribute the cause to problems in interpersonal relationships.