The role of gender on stigma towards people with depression in Singapore

• Main Author: Quak, Mei Qing
• Other Authors: Bobby K. Cheon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151025
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Research has consistently shown that the treatment gap for depression in males is higher than females. One reason that could explain this difference is how males show higher depression stigma than females do. This can be attributed to their need to adhere to gender norms of being stoic, competent and independent, in contrast with females who are thought to be more emotional and express more negative affect. While a myriad of literature is available on the sociocultural reasons behind why different genders express emotions differently, much less is known about how gender norms interact with stigma towards depression. To address this gap, this paper explores whether males may show greater stigma and reluctance to seek help because they are concerned this would be a threat to their masculinity. Two-hundred and ninety-nine participants aged between 18 and 35 were recruited for the study, where they were randomly assigned to either the threat condition (exposure to gender threats), or the control condition (no exposure to gender threats). A quantitative, 2 (threat-control) x 2 (gender) between-subject design was adopted in the study to analyse how gender threat may increase depression stigma. It also seeks to examine closely how gender discrepancy stress and general self-threat act as a mediator, and how conformity to gender norms acts as a moderator, in influencing depression stigma. Though results did not support any hypotheses, the study was able to sieve out the specific aspects of conformity to masculine norms that further contributed to males’ stigma. The study also discovered that conformity to feminine norms possibly plays a role in effecting female’s self-stigma towards depression. Limitations of the study, implications and directions for future research are similarly discussed.