This study was designed to revisit the response bias hypothesis, which posits that gender differences in depression prevalence rates may reflect a tendency for men to underreport depressive symptoms. In this study, we examined aspects of gender role socialization (genderrelated traits, socially desirable responding, beliefs about mental health and depression) that may contribute to a response bias in self-reports of depression. In addition, we investigated the impact of two contextual variables (i.e., cause of depression and level of intrusiveness of experimental follow-up) on self-reports of depressive symptoms. Results indicated that men, but not women, reported fewer depressive symptoms when consent forms indicated that a more involved follow-up might occur. Further, results indicated differential responding by men and women on measures of gender-related traits, mental health beliefs, and beliefs about depression and predictors of depressed mood. Together, our results support the assertion that, in specific contexts, a response bias explanation warrants further consideration in investigations of gender differences in rates of self-reported depression.
Individuals diagnosed with seasonal depression (MDD-SAD), nonseasonal depression (MDD), and controls completed a modified Stroop task and viewed winter and summer content scenes while skin conductance levels were recorded. Participants in the MDD-SAD and MDD groups took longer than controls to color name dark and depressive content words; however, individuals in the MDD group took longer than controls to color name all words. In reaction to winter scenes, individuals in the MDD-SAD group exhibited a greater frequency of significant skin conductance responses and greater amplitude of skin conductance responses than individuals in the MDD and control groups. These results add to a growing literature on seasonal reactivity which suggests that there may be specific features that distinguish seasonal and nonseasonal depression.Keywords Seasonal depression AE Seasonal reactivity AE Seasonal affective disorder AE Attentional bias Although the effects of the changing seasons on mood and behavior have long been of interest to laypeople, only in the last 20 years have researchers systematically approached the topic with scientific rigor. Initial research on seasonal depression investigated environmental and chronobiological contributions; however, recent research on seasonal depression has focused on the application of cognitive
Little attention has focused on the reporting of ethical research practices in journal articles. In Study 1, published articles in 2 psychopathology journals were reviewed to ascertain the types of ethical research information that were reported. In Study 2, a survey was sent to authors in Study 1 to determine which ethical practices they engaged in, if they reported this information, and reasons for not including this information in their article. In general, there is a great variability regarding the types of ethical research practices reported in journal articles. Commonly cited reasons for not including ethical research practice information in the articles included the need for brevity, belief that it was common practice, and lack of relevance for the project. These results suggest that there is no standard practice for reporting research practices in journal articles and great variability in the implementation of procedures that are generally considered standard.
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