Men may Not Identify Signs of Depression Among Other Men

Researchers at University of Westminster have found that depression in women was more likely to be easily identified by both men and women but men are often unable to spot the signs in other men.

Researchers led by Dr Viren Swami conducted an experiment where they created two fictional characters, Kate and Jack, with both of them described with identical depression symptoms with the only change being the gender.

A group of respondents were then asked to identify whether the character was suffering from depression and what type of professional help they would recommend.

The researchers found that while both men and women easily identified Kate as being depressed, men were not able to identify correctly whether Jack too suffered from depression. "Men were also more likely to recommend that Kate seek professional help than women were, but both men and women were equally likely to make this suggestion for Jack. Respondents, particularly men, rated Kate's case as significantly more distressing, difficult to treat, and deserving of sympathy than they did Jack's case", Dr Swami said.

Source: Medindia