https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1336-5116
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Abstract
Scientific literature suggests more women to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) yet more men to commit suicide. Thus, distinct gender-specific symptoms may exist allowing prototypical male depression to evade social and medical detection until it is too late. This study aimed at characterizing gender differences based on self-rating questionnaires in male and female patients with acute suicidal ideations (n = 28; 12 female patients) committed to a local district hospital in Bavaria, Germany from 2021 to 2023. While these patients reported significantly augmented symptoms in the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), the Gender-Specific Depression Screening (GSDS), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-II), and the Impulsive Behavior Short Scale-8 (I-8) compared to healthy controls (n = 30; 14 female controls), gender-based differences within the group remained surprisingly scarce. Surprisingly, the GSDS failed to differentiate gender-specific symptoms (ie male-specific depressive symptoms). Suicidal women, however, reported a heightened anger trait and outward directed anger expression (STAXI-II), as well as prominent sensation seeking and urgency (I-8) than suicidal men; symptoms that are viewed as typically male. Conversely, suicidal men primarily expressed inwardly directed anger (ie self-hate; STAXI-II). There is no evidence for self-reported, presumably gender-specific symptomatology in the investigated suicidal mixed-gender patient population.
Reviewing Editor:
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Prof. Becker and the team of the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Ulm University for the excellent cooperation and the possibility to recruit patients there.
Authors contribution
M.F. designed the study with input from J.S. and M.D. S.-M.S. and A.-K.G. recruited all participants and collected the data. J.S. was responsible for the statistical analysis. M.F. wrote the manuscript with the help of J.S. and M.D. All authors read and consented to the final version of the manuscript.
Ethical approval
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval from the ethical review board of the Bavarian State Medical Association (Nr. 21007).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, M.F., upon reasonable request.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sarah-Maria Soravia
Sarah-Maria Soravia and Ann-Kathrin Gosemärker are both nearing the completion of their medical studies, poised to embark on their journeys as healthcare professionals. Sarah-Maria Soravia has set her sights on a career in psychiatry, while Ann-Kathrin Gosemärker is preparing to serve as a general practitioner.
Ann-Kathrin Gosemärker
Sarah-Maria Soravia and Ann-Kathrin Gosemärker are both nearing the completion of their medical studies, poised to embark on their journeys as healthcare professionals. Sarah-Maria Soravia has set her sights on a career in psychiatry, while Ann-Kathrin Gosemärker is preparing to serve as a general practitioner.
Judith Streb
Dr. Judith-Streb is a seasoned psychologist with a wealth of experience in clinical research and statistical analysis. Her early career was dedicated to cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on EEG correlates and learning processes. However, since 2014, she has shifted her focus to different aspects of forensic psychiatric research.
Manuela Dudeck
Renowned in her field, Prof. Dr. Manuela Dudeck is an accomplished forensic psychiatrist, neurologist, and psychotherapist. She has authored and edited numerous books, scientific papers, and review articles in forensic psychiatry. Currently, she holds the position of chief clinician at the Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the District Hospital Günzburg, as well as a full professorship in forensic psychiatry at Ulm University.
Michael Fritz
Prof. Dr. Michael Fritz brings over a decade of experience in preclinical neuroscience to his role as a psychologist. His previous work centered on animal models of addiction, depression, and psychoneuroimmunology. Since joining the Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the District Hospital Günzburg, his research has shifted towards identifying predictive biomarkers of aggression and depression in both forensic psychiatric and general psychiatric patients.