Papers by Brett Silverstein
Academia Mental Health and Well-Being, Jul 30, 2024
The higher prevalence of depression among women compared to men, beginning at adolescence, has be... more The higher prevalence of depression among women compared to men, beginning at adolescence, has been widely reported. Here, we consider an explanation that includes both physiological and psychosocial factors. Reviews of studies from several overlapping but independent bodies of research: 1. Link inflammation with depression associated with somatic symptoms beginning in adolescence; 2. Report that the gender difference in depressive prevalence is due to the greater prevalence of somatic depression among females compared to males, beginning in adolescence; 3. Find weak mixed evidence that inflammation is more likely to lead to depression in females than in males; 4. Find high levels of inflammation among people experiencing discrimination/low status; 5. Demonstrate that females report experiencing lower status and greater gender discrimination compared to men, beginning in adolescence; 6. Show that somatic depression is related to perceived gender discrimination reported by women beginning in adolescence. The combination of these brief reviews suggests that a major role in explaining the higher prevalence of depression among females beginning at adolescence may be played by somatic depression resulting from inflammation precipitated by perceived discrimination/low status.
In The Cost of Competence Brett Silverstein and Deborah Perlick argue that rather than simply lab... more In The Cost of Competence Brett Silverstein and Deborah Perlick argue that rather than simply labelling individual women as, say, anorexic or depressed, it is time to look harder at the widespread prejudices within our society and child-rearing practices that lead thousands of young women to equate thinness with competence and success, and femininity with failure.
Evolutionary Psychological Science
Journal of affective disorders, 2017
Given that several studies have found the gender difference in depression to be rooted in psychos... more Given that several studies have found the gender difference in depression to be rooted in psychosocial forces and others have shown the difference to be due to a gender difference in somatic depression, we compared the gender difference in somatic depression among respondents who reported no relative depressed with that of all other depressed respondents. Respondents in a representative sample from the Zurich study who met criteria for somatic depression and reported no relatives (first-degree, or parents, or mothers, or fathers in separate analyses) with depression were compared to other depressed respondents as to gender. The gender difference in the prevalence of depression among respondents with somatic depression who reported no relatives with depression (whether the relatives were all first-degree, or any parent, or mothers only or fathers only) was significantly greater than the gender difference in depression among other respondents LIMITATIONS: The measure of depression amo...
Archives of General Psychiatry, Mar 1, 1992
Sex Roles, 1988
... Brett Silverstein City College of New York ... The other recurring theme is the relationship ... more ... Brett Silverstein City College of New York ... The other recurring theme is the relationship between achievement striving and/or feelings of failure and eating disorders and body dissatisfaction (Hawkins, Turrel, & Jackson, 1983; Kagan & Squires, 1983; Sights & Richards, 1984 ...
Amer Psychol, 1995
ABSTRACT Comments that the power and the danger of E. E. Sampson's (see record 1994-17460... more ABSTRACT Comments that the power and the danger of E. E. Sampson's (see record 1994-17460-001) argument on identity politics are suggested by research on the psychology of women and the work done by R. K. White (1966) and by R. R. Holt and B. Silverstein (see record 1990-01052-001) on enemy images. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
American Journal of Psychiatry, Oct 8, 2014
Using data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, the author attempted to replicate t... more Using data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, the author attempted to replicate the finding of the National Comorbidity Survey that the prevalence of depression associated with somatic symptoms was much higher among women than men. The author reanalyzed data from the ECA study. He divided respondents into those who met criteria for major depression and exhibited appetite and sleep disturbances and fatigue (somatic depression) and those who met depression criteria but did not exhibit all of these somatic criteria (pure depression). The reanalysis revealed that the prevalence of somatic depression but not pure depression was much higher among women than men. Somatic depression was associated with high rates of pain; among women, it was associated with high rates of anxiety disorders and chronic dysphoria. The gender difference in depression may result from a difference in a specific type of depression-anxious somatic depression.
Psychiatry Journal, 2015
Objective. Arguing that additional symptoms should be added to the criteria for atypical depressi... more Objective. Arguing that additional symptoms should be added to the criteria for atypical depression.Method. Published research articles on atypical depression are reviewed.Results. (1) The original studies upon which the criteria for atypical depression were based cited fatigue, insomnia, pain, and loss of weight as characteristic symptoms. (2) Several studies of DSM depressive criteria found patients with atypical depression to exhibit high levels of insomnia, fatigue, and loss of appetite/weight. (3) Several studies have found atypical depression to be comorbid with headaches, bulimia, and body image issues. (4) Most probands who report atypical depression meet criteria for “somatic depression,” defined as depression associated with several of disordered eating, poor body image, headaches, fatigue, and insomnia. The gender difference in prevalence of atypical depression results from its overlap with somatic depression. Somatic depression is associated with psychosocial measures re...
Journal of experimental psychology. General, 1977
Journal of experimental psychology. General, 1977
Psychiatry research, Jan 15, 2014
Depression accompanied by somatic symptoms ("somatic" depression) has been found to dif... more Depression accompanied by somatic symptoms ("somatic" depression) has been found to differ from depression without the additional symptoms ("pure" depression) in their gender ratio, their association with measures of perceived gender inequality taken from both respondents and their parents, and in their response to pharmacological treatment. Further evidence of the distinction between the two syndromes might come from differential patterns of development. Data on the annual incidence of new cases of depression exhibited by a representative sample of respondents aged 12-19 came from the National household survey on drug use and health. Between early adolescence (ages 12-14) and late adolescence (ages 15-19), female respondents exhibited a much larger increase in somatic depression than in pure depression. Males did not exhibit the same pattern. These results further support the hypothesis that somatic and pure depressions are two distinct disorders.
International Journal of Eating Disorders, 1986
Abstract Historical analyses were used to test the hypothesis that the recent outbreak of eating ... more Abstract Historical analyses were used to test the hypothesis that the recent outbreak of eating disorders among women may be due, in part, to the slim standard of bodily attractiveness for women that has become fashionable. Historical changes in the standard ...
The American journal of psychiatry, 1999
This study tested the hypothesis that female subjects may exhibit a higher prevalence than male s... more This study tested the hypothesis that female subjects may exhibit a higher prevalence than male subjects of depression associated with somatic symptoms but not a higher prevalence of depression not associated with these other symptoms. The author reanalyzed research interview data on major depression from the National Comorbidity Survey, dividing respondents into those who met overall criteria for major depression and exhibited fatigue and appetite and sleep disturbance ("somatic depression") and those who met overall criteria but did not exhibit these somatic criteria ("pure depression"). Female subjects exhibited a higher prevalence than male subjects of somatic depression but not a higher prevalence of pure depression. Somatic depression was associated with a high prevalence of anxiety disorder and, among female subjects, with body aches and onset of depression during early adolescence. The gender difference in depression may result from a difference in a spec...
Journal of experimental psychology. General, 1977
Provides a summary and introduction to five articles examining the interaction of psychological a... more Provides a summary and introduction to five articles examining the interaction of psychological and pharmacological determinants of smoking, as presented in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General Those articles are as follows: "Nicotine Regulation in Heavy and Light Smokers", by Schachter ; "Effects of Urinary pH on Cigarette Smoking", by Schachter, Kozlowski, and Silverstein ; "Social Life, Cigarette Smoking, and
... in the New York Times (eg, Anatoly Scharansky-138, Andrei Sakharov-223) with the number of me... more ... in the New York Times (eg, Anatoly Scharansky-138, Andrei Sakharov-223) with the number of mentions made of dissidents who are fighting against nations that are allied with the United States (eg, Ar-chbishop Camara of Brazil-4, Heri Akhmadi of Indonesia ... March/April: 57-63. ...
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Papers by Brett Silverstein