GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE EXPRESSION OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN MIDDLEADOLESCENTS - AN EXTENSION OF EARLIER FINDINGS

Subjects in the present study were 153 French Canadian high school stu dents (98 females, 55 males) participating in the second phase of a la rger longitudinal study (Baron & Groulx, 1990; Baron, Regimbald, & Gro ulx, 1991). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether, cons istent with the findings obtained at the first phase of the study, fem ales maintain higher mean scores than do males on all items discrimina ting between groups on the basis of gender. Separate discriminant func tion analyses of both the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); items were consistent, with l ower mean scores for males on all interpretable items. Results are dis cussed with respect to variability in the instruments, and in view of previous research aimed at examining the expression of depressive symp toms in this and other adolescent samples.