Gender Differences in Depression in the General Population of Indonesia: Confounding Effects

BACKGROUND: Research findings on gender differences in depression are inconsistent. This study investigated gender and depression in the Indonesian population and considered possible confounding effects. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. Participants completed the following self-report measures: demographic characteristic questions, the Cultural Orientation Scale, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Gender differences in depression were examined using a generalized linear model. RESULTS: After withdrawals, 265 men and 243 women remained. Women and men did not differ in overall scores and four-factor depression symptoms even after adjusting for cultural orientation and demographic confounding factors, except for the depression symptoms “crying,” “cannot get going,” and “people were unfriendly.” Gender differences in depression became significant after adjusting for stereotypical symptom variance. Men reported being lonelier than women. CONCLUSIONS: Possible confounding effects on the association between gender and depression are methodological issues, cultural orientation transition, and stereotypical symptoms. Low depression scores found for gender may reflect dimension-counterpart coping strategies.