The effect of age on gender differences in the psychological distress ratings of immigrants

Abstract

Gender differences in psychological distress were examined to test the effect of age and other sociodemographic variables on a well-known phenomenon of higher ratings of psychological symptoms in women. Levels and symptoms of psychological distress were assessed using the 24-item self-administered scale of the Talbieh Brief Distress Inventory (TBDI) in a representative community sample of 1953 adult Russian-born Jewish immigrants to Israel. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the effects of sociodemographic variables on gender differences in psychological distress and symptomatology. Substantial gender differences were found in the overall level of psychological distress, with greater distress reported by females than by males. The phenomenon of gender difference depended largely on age, with greater differences found in middle-aged immigrants. Expression of most symptoms (except paranoid ideation) was greater among females than males, but these differences disappeared differentially with age for different symptoms: gender differences in hostility disappeared after 40 years of age, in obsessiveness and sensitivity after 50 and in depression after 60. Gender differences in anxiety remained consistent over age. Multivariate analysis confirmed these findings and, in addition, showed that gender interacted with length of immigration factor within the fourth decade and with family composition factor within the sixth decade of the lifespan. These findings support our contention that gender difference in the expression of most distress symptoms is an age-dependent phenomenon. The possible determinants of the gender differences in psychological distress are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.