The Masculine Depression Scale: Development and Psychometric Evaluation

A preponderance of anecdotal evidence suggests that men manifest depression differently than women and that this atypical symptom presentation is even more evident in men who adhere to restrictive masculine norms ( Cochran & Rabinowitz, 2000 ; Real, 1997 ). The aim of this study was to develop a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of men & masculinity 2008-07, Vol.9 (3), p.117-132
Main Authors: Magovcevic, Mariola, Addis, Michael E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Depression
Human
Human Males
Major Depression
Male
Masculinity
Men
Psychometrics
Rating Scales
Self-Report
Selfreport
Stress
Symptoms
Test Construction
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Summary:A preponderance of anecdotal evidence suggests that men manifest depression differently than women and that this atypical symptom presentation is even more evident in men who adhere to restrictive masculine norms ( Cochran & Rabinowitz, 2000 ; Real, 1997 ). The aim of this study was to develop a self-report assessment instrument, the Masculine Depression Scale (MDS), which captures these atypical symptoms of depression. One hundred and two men who experienced a recent stressful life event were asked to complete measures of prototypic depression, masculine norm conformity, and our measure of masculine depression. Factor analyses yielded a two-factor solution: internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Externalizing symptoms were moderately correlated with measures of depression and masculine norm adherence, while internalizing symptoms were highly correlated with measures of depression but unrelated to masculine norm adherence. Men who adhered strongly to masculine norms were more likely to endorse externalizing symptoms on the MDS than prototypic symptoms of depression. The findings suggest that the MDS may be capturing aspects of depression associated with masculine gender socialization that are not captured by existing measures.
ISSN:1524-9220
1939-151X
DOI:10.1037/1524-9220.9.3.117