Journal ArticleDOI
Using sex differences in psychopathology to study causal mechanisms: unifying issues and research strategies.
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
The systematic investigation of sex differences constitutes an invaluable tool for the study of the causal processes concerned with psychopathology.Abstract:
Background: Although there is an extensive literature, both speculative and empirical, on postulated differences between males and females in their rates of particular types of disorder, very little is known about the mechanisms that underlie these sex differences. The study of mechanisms is important because it may provide clues on aetiological processes. The review seeks to outline what is known, what are the methodological hazards that must be dealt with, and the research strategies that may be employed.
Methods: We note the need for representative general samples, and for adequate measurement and significance testing if valid conclusions are to be drawn. We put forward three levels of causes that have to be considered: a genetically determined distal basic starting point; the varied consequences of being male or female; and the proximal risk or protective factors that are more directly implicated in the causal mechanisms that predispose to psychopathology. In delineating these, we argue that three key sets of evidential criteria have to be met: a) that the risk factors differ between males and females; b) that they provide for risk or protection within each sex; and c) that when introduced into a causal model, they eliminate or reduce the sex differences in the disorders being studied.
Results: A male excess mainly applies to early onset disorders that involve some kind of neurodevelopmental impairment. A female excess mainly applies to adolescent-onset emotional disorders. No variables have yet met all the necessary criteria but some good leads are available. The possible research strategies that may be employed are reviewed.
Conclusions: The systematic investigation of sex differences constitutes an invaluable tool for the study of the causal processes concerned with psychopathology.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Personality development: stability and change.
TL;DR: This review examines research about the structure of personality in childhood and in adulthood, with special attention to possible developmental changes in the lower-order components of broad traits.
Book
Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities
TL;DR: Mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) disorders—which include depression, conduct disorder, and substance abuse—affect large numbers of young people.
Journal ArticleDOI
Gene–environment interactions in psychiatry: joining forces with neuroscience
TL;DR: Opportunities and challenges in the collaboration between psychiatry, epidemiology and neuroscience in studying gene–environment interactions in psychiatry are discussed.
Journal Article
Sex differences in the functional organization of the brain for language
Bennett A. Shaywitz,Sally E. Shaywitz,Kenneth R. Pugh,Robert Todd Constable,Pawel Skudlarski,Robert K. Fulbright,Richard A. Bronen,Jack M. Fletcher,D.P. Shankweiler,Leonard Katz,John C. Gore +10 more
TL;DR: For instance, this paper found that brain activation in males is lateralized to the left inferior frontal gyrus regions; in females the pattern of activation is very different, engaging more diffuse neural systems that involve both the left and right inferior frontal cortex.
Journal ArticleDOI
Disorders of childhood and adolescence: gender and psychopathology.
TL;DR: This review focuses on biological and environmental factors implicated in the development of conduct problems and depression in boys and girls and considers male-like and female-like characteristics to explore how they inform biological andEnvironmental theories about gender and psychopathology.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.
Reuben M. Baron,David A. Kenny +1 more
TL;DR: This article seeks to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ, and delineates the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena.
Journal ArticleDOI
Lifetime and 12-Month Prevalence of DSM-III-R Psychiatric Disorders in the United States: Results From the National Comorbidity Survey
Ronald C. Kessler,Katherine A. McGonagle,Shanyang Zhao,Christopher B. Nelson,Michael R. Hughes,Suzann Eshleman,Hans-Ulrich Wittchen,Kenneth S. Kendler +7 more
TL;DR: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders is greater than previously thought to be the case, and morbidity is more highly concentrated than previously recognized in roughly one sixth of the population who have a history of three or more comorbid disorders.
Journal ArticleDOI
Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: a revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders
TL;DR: The revised interview has been reorganized, shortened, modified to be appropriate for children with mental ages from about 18 months into adulthood and linked to ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria.
Journal ArticleDOI
A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment.
Nicki R. Crick,Kenneth A. Dodge +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the relation between social information processing and social adjustment in childhood is reviewed and interpreted within the framework of a reformulated model of human performance and social exchange, which proves to assimilate almost all previous studies and is a useful heuristic device for organizing the field.
Journal ArticleDOI
Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children
Avshalom Caspi,Avshalom Caspi,Joseph L. McClay,Terrie E. Moffitt,Terrie E. Moffitt,Jonathan Mill,Judy Martin,Ian W. Craig,Alan Taylor,Richie Poulton +9 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a large sample of male children from birth to adulthood was studied to determine why some children who are maltreated grow up to develop antisocial behavior, whereas others do not.