Social stratification

Gerontology

Macroeconomics

Demography

Inequality

Social psychology

Social inequality

Depression (economics)

European Social Survey

Psychiatry

Economics

Disadvantage

Psychology

Mathematics

Politics

Political science

Demographic economics

Sociology

Gender inequality

Mathematical analysis

Gender gap

Mental health

Life course approach

Medicine

Social science

Social Science & Medicine

Macro-sociological theories stress the contribution of gender inequality to this gender gap in depression, while cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory (CAD) reminds us that mental health inequalities accumulate over the life course. We explore the complementarity of both perspectives in a variety of European countries using data of the European Social Survey (2006 2012, 2014, N of countries = 29; N of men = 53,680 and N of women = 63,103) and using an 8-item version of the CES-D. Results confirm that the relevance of gender stratification for the mental health of women and men in Europe depends on age. The gender gap is nearly absent amongst adults in their twenties in the most gender equal countries, while an impressive gender gap is present amongst older adults in gender unequal countries, in accordance with CAD theory. These effects occur on top of the mental health consequences of taking up work and family roles at various life stages. The convergence of the results predicted by gender stratification and cumulative disadvantage theories strengthen the case for the link between gender, disadvantage and depression.

Depression in women and men, cumulative disadvantage and gender inequality in 29 European countries