Table 1.
Sex differences in score endorsement on the 21 items of Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), at 13 and 17 years of age
| 13 years of age (Girls: 1037; Boys: 951) | 17 years of age (Girls: 1130; Boys: 1001) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDI-II items | Score 0 n (%) | Score 1 n (%) | Score 2–3 n (%) | Effect size (Cohen's w) | p-valuea | Score 0 n (%) | Score 1 n (%) | Score 2–3 n (%) | Effect size (Cohen's w) | p-valuea |
| 1. Sadness | ||||||||||
| Girls | 648 (62.5) | 364 (35.1) | 24 (2.3) | 0.23 | <0.001 | 718 (63.7) | 389 (34.5) | 21 (1.9) | 0.23 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 787 (83.1) | 148 (15.6) | 12 (1.3) | 838 (83.9) | 151 (15.1) | 10 (1.0) | ||||
| 2. Pessimism | ||||||||||
| Girls | 718 (70.0) | 221 (21.6) | 86 (8.4) | 0.15 | <0.001 | 689 (61.4) | 387 (34.5) | 47 (4.2) | 0.19 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 774 (82.6) | 129 (13.8) | 34 (3.6) | 780 (78.3) | 186 (18.7) | 30 (3.0) | ||||
| 3. Past failure | ||||||||||
| Girls | 749 (72.9) | 220 (21.4) | 59 (5.7) | 0.12 | <0.001 | 809 (72.0) | 258 (23.0) | 56 (5.0) | 0.13 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 777 (82.5) | 140 (14.9) | 25 (2.7) | 818 (82.0) | 163 (16.3) | 16 (1.6) | ||||
| 4. Loss of pleasure | ||||||||||
| Girls | 711 (69.3) | 246 (24.0) | 69 (6.7) | 0.10 | <0.001 | 849 (75.7) | 211 (18.8) | 61 (5.4) | 0.12 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 731 (78.1) | 160 (17.1) | 45 (4.8) | 846 (85.2) | 114 (11.5) | 33 (3.3) | ||||
| 5. Guilty feelings | ||||||||||
| Girls | 627 (60.9) | 367 (35.6) | 36 (3.5) | 0.09 | <0.001 | 695 (61.6) | 397 (35.2) | 36 (3.2) | 0.13 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 655 (69.5) | 265 (28.1) | 22 (2.3) | 736 (73.8) | 244 (24.5) | 17 (1.7) | ||||
| 6. Punishment feelings | ||||||||||
| Girls | 701 (68.3) | 257 (25.0) | 69 (6.7) | 0.05 | 0.076 | 879 (78.1) | 189 (16.8) | 57 (5.1) | 0.11 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 676 (72.1) | 218 (23.2) | 44 (4.7) | 858 (86.1) | 116 (11.6) | 23 (2.3) | ||||
| 7. Self-dislike | ||||||||||
| Girls | 829 (80.6) | 122 (11.9) | 78 (7.6) | 0.14 | <0.001 | 869 (77.6) | 158 (14.1) | 93 (8.3) | 0.18 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 853 (90.5) | 56 (5.9) | 34 (3.6) | 898 (90.5) | 71 (7.2) | 23 (2.3) | ||||
| 8. Self-criticalness | ||||||||||
| Girls | 667 (65.1) | 235 (22.9) | 122 (11.9) | 0.16 | <0.001 | 755 (67.4) | 247 (22.1) | 118 (10.5) | 0.10 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 747 (79.6) | 129 (13.7) | 63 (6.7) | 752 (76.3) | 160 (16.2) | 74 (7.5) | ||||
| 9. Suicidal thoughts or wishes | ||||||||||
| Girls | 920 (89.9) | 80 (7.8) | 23 (2.2) | 0.07 | 0.005 | 1028 (91.6) | 83 (7.4) | 11 (1.0) | 0.09 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 882 (93.9) | 44 (4.7) | 13 (1.4) | 947 (95.9) | 32 (3.2) | 9 (0.9) | ||||
| 10. Crying | ||||||||||
| Girls | 660 (63.8) | 254 (24.6) | 120 (11.6) | 0.34 | <0.001 | 726 (64.9) | 256 (22.9) | 137 (12.2) | 0.31 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 867 (91.9) | 40 (4.2) | 37 (3.9) | 898 (90.7) | 67 (6.8) | 25 (2.5) | ||||
| 11. Agitation | ||||||||||
| Girls | 673 (65.6) | 291 (28.4) | 62 (6.0) | 0.15 | <0.001 | 742 (66.3) | 319 (28.5) | 58 (5.2) | 0.15 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 741 (78.7) | 165 (17.5) | 36 (3.8) | 777 (78.7) | 191 (19.4) | 19 (1.9) | ||||
| 12. Loss of interest | ||||||||||
| Girls | 835 (81.2) | 137 (13.3) | 56 (5.4) | 0.11 | <0.001 | 868 (77.5) | 211 (18.8) | 41 (3.7) | 0.10 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 831 (88.1) | 93 (9.9) | 19 (2.0) | 843 (85.2) | 123 (12.4) | 23 (2.3) | ||||
| 13. Indecisiveness | ||||||||||
| Girls | 689 (67.0) | 289 (28.1) | 51 (5.0) | 0.17 | <0.001 | 772 (68.9) | 292 (26.1) | 56 (5.0) | 0.12 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 772 (82.0) | 143 (15.2) | 26 (2.8) | 786 (79.7) | 170 (17.2) | 30 (3.0) | ||||
| 14. Worthlessness | ||||||||||
| Girls | 851 (82.9) | 116 (11.3) | 59 (5.8) | 0.10 | <0.001 | 941 (84.6) | 111 (10.0) | 60 (5.4) | 0.11 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 834 (89.6) | 67 (7.2) | 30 (3.2) | 899 (91.6) | 63 (6.4) | 19 (1.9) | ||||
| 15. Loss of energy | ||||||||||
| Girls | 774 (74.9) | 221 (21.4) | 39 (3.8) | 0.12 | <0.001 | 753 (66.7) | 304 (26.9) | 72 (6.4) | 0.18 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 797 (84.1) | 124 (13.1) | 27 (2.8) | 818 (82.2) | 152 (15.3) | 25 (2.5) | ||||
| 16. Changes in sleeping pattern | ||||||||||
| Girls | 571 (55.4) | 357 (34.6) | 103 (10.0) | 0.10 | <0.001 | 518 (46.1) | 488 (43.4) | 118 (10.5) | 0.13 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 608 (64.4) | 280 (29.7) | 56 (5.9) | 570 (57.5) | 367 (37.0) | 55 (5.5) | ||||
| 17. Irritability | ||||||||||
| Girls | 739 (71.9) | 249 (24.2) | 40 (3.9) | 0.14 | <0.001 | 754 (66.8) | 312 (27.7) | 62 (5.5) | 0.18 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 792 (83.7) | 138 (14.6) | 16 (1.7) | 815 (82.0) | 159 (16.0) | 20 (2.0) | ||||
| 18. Changes in appetite | ||||||||||
| Girls | 557 (53.8) | 410 (39.6) | 68 (6.6) | 0.16 | <0.001 | 628 (55.7) | 430 (38.2) | 69 (6.1) | 0.19 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 655 (69.2) | 240 (25.4) | 51 (5.4) | 730 (73.6) | 233 (23.5) | 29 (2.9) | ||||
| 19. Concentration difficulty | ||||||||||
| Girls | 499 (48.5) | 456 (44.4) | 73 (7.1) | 0.20 | <0.001 | 586 (52.3) | 421 (37.6) | 114 (10.2) | 0.16 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 644 (68.2) | 253 (26.8) | 47 (5.0) | 678 (68.3) | 254 (25.6) | 60 (6.0) | ||||
| 20. Tiredness or fatigue | ||||||||||
| Girls | 722 (70.2) | 276 (26.8) | 30 (2.9) | 0.16 | <0.001 | 706 (62.6) | 368 (32.7) | 53 (4.7) | 0.20 | <0.001 |
| Boys | 784 (82.8) | 134 (14.1) | 29 (3.1) | 804 (89.0) | 171 (17.2) | 19 (1.9) | ||||
| 21. Loss of interest in sex | ||||||||||
| Girls | 888 (93.3) | 31 (3.3) | 33 (3.5) | 0.05 | 0.140 | 988 (92.3) | 53 (5.0) | 29 (2.7) | 0.06 | 0.040 |
| Boys | 863 (93.2) | 41 (4.4) | 22 (2.4) | 922 (94.6) | 41 (4.2) | 12 (1.2) | ||||
a
χ2 test.