14 Depression in Male College Students
Matthew Maloney
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Symptoms include feeling sad and down, loss of interest and pleasure in doing activities once enjoyed, changes in appetite, trouble with sleeping, loss of energy, and even suicidal thoughts if bad enough. The American Psychiatric Association claims that “Symptoms must last at least two weeks and must represent a change in your previous level of functioning for a diagnosis of depression (What is Depression, 2022).” Depression symptoms can vary in many ways and can be from mild to severe.
Men and women both experience depression but their symptoms can be very different. Men who are depressed may appear to be angry or aggressive instead of sad and down. This can cause their families, friends, and even their doctors to not always recognize the anger or aggression as depression symptoms. In addition, men are less likely than women to recognize, talk about, and seek treatment for depression. About 10% to 17% of men will develop major depression at some point in their lives. Yet many men are reluctant to convey their feelings and seek help when they are in despair.
Reasons for Depression between Race and Ethnicity
A study published in the Journal of American College Health found that there was a higher level of depression and anxiety among minority students (Asher BlackDeer et al, 2021). It was found that 36.98% of Biracial students, 33.91% of Asian students, 30.78% of under-represented minority students, and 30.12% of white students experienced depression symptoms. It was also found that intergenerational family conflict, which is the conflict that adolescents often start to experience as they begin to differentiate from their parents, can be a contributing factor to stress and depression. It may be more relevant to Asian Americans than White Americans (Kalibatseva et al, 2017). As they begin to differentiate from their parents, Asian Americans feel more conflict which can lead to having a higher depression level than White Americans. There is a higher level of expectations for Asian Americans that they put on themselves, especially as they head to college and go out on their own. Furthermore, it was also found that Asian Americans tend to seek mental health services less frequently and receive less adequate depression treatment than White Americans (Kalibatseva et al, 2017). This study showed that Asian-American college students have reported higher scores of depressions than White-American college students and examined how they had higher levels of loss of face (shame and self-perception of not being good enough).
Psychiatric services provide information on the mental health experiences of U.S. college students from minority backgrounds. It mentioned “how black people and Hispanics had lower rates of psychiatric diagnoses than white people but had similar rates of past-year suicide attempts (Chen et al, 2019).” Despite reporting generally lower rates of psychiatric diagnoses compared with whites, multiracial Asian/Pacific Islander students also were more likely to endorse having felt hopeless and were so depressed that it was difficult for them to function. They also were even more likely to have considered or attempted suicide. African Americans have been found to deny their attitude toward recognizing personal suicidal thoughts and feelings despite having a much higher suicidal ideation than White Americans (Keum et al, 2018).
A surprising and alarming finding was the significantly lower well-being scores for Asian Americans and significantly higher depression scores compared to White Americans and is affecting many Asian American male students in colleges around the US, which can lead to negative coping strategies. The Asian Americans in the study exhibited the greatest lack of positive feeling and functioning in life, coupled with their significant engagement in alcohol use, perhaps as a negative coping strategy. Within each ethnic group, students that reported that they had depression had a significantly lower school GPA than students not reporting depression. According to Journal of American College Health, 17.87% of students were treated for depression and 12.91% were treated for anxiety. Compared to not-treated students, diagnosed only students had significantly lower grade averages (Asher BlackDeer et al, 2021). Despite male college students of different races having their own experiences with depression, each deals with it in a variety of ways.
Discrimination and Depression
Evidence suggests that racial discrimination directly associated with a higher level of depression (Juang et al, 2016). This makes a lot of sense because discrimination is not meant for someone to feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, Latino college students are being negatively affected by microaggression, which is a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority. Torres-Harding and the other authors of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry found that Latinos that could be examples of foreigner microaggressions experienced longer lasting physiological stress reactivity responses when compared with Latinos in a control condition overhearing insulting but nonracial remarks (Torres-Harding et al, 2020). This means that due to the subtle, unconscious prejudice remarks to the Latinos due to being foreign led to a longer lasting physiological stress reactivity. These microaggressions have contributed to lower self-esteem, decreased self-efficacy, and negative mood. According to the American Psychological Association, controlling for baseline depression in African Americans, racial discrimination was both directly associated with depression 6 months later and indirectly associated through Work Conflict (American Psychological Association, 2022). Thus, college men experiencing any form of microaggressions can negatively affect their overall well-being and can promote depression.
Importance of Relationships
Belonging is an important feeling that involves the belief that one has support and community. This can be especially significant for college male students who are assimilating into a new community. A low sense of belonging is directly associated with a lower level of depression. Looking back at the Journal of College Student Development study, it also talked about how students with close friend group circles who were willing to talk about their discrimination experiences with their peers would experience a lower level of depression symptoms. Their study provided information on the importance of interpersonal interactions with supportive peers (Juang et al, 2016). The Journal of American College Health also found that there is a direct association between feeling as if one does not belong and depression. The more that one feels like they belong in a group of peers, the less they tend to feel depressed on a daily basis (Barbour et al, 2021). However, this looks different for each individual. While some individuals are fulfilled by just a few interpersonal relationships, other individuals need a sense of belonging from a much larger social circle to experience the same level of fulfillment.
How to help Moving Forward
At the intrapersonal and interpersonal level, do not be afraid to talk to friends about overall sense of well-being and feelings. There is evidence that talking with one’s peers will not only create a closer connection within the circle of friends, but it will also help one get through depression better. College male students struggle with opening up to their peers about their feelings because of a fear of being less masculine or made fun of. According to Healthshots, “…talking about depression is the most crucial step in the entire process of recovery (Health Shots, 2021).” There are many ways to recover with depression and each person’s journey is different. There is medication diagnosed to treat people, but there is always a major risk with antidepressants medication on side effects. Whether attending self-help groups, speaking to a mental health expert, seeking medication, or simply speaking to loved ones, the key is to be open about sharing one’s feelings. Another thing to be mindful of is not to discriminate against anyone. I know it is already a given and everyone knows how important it is, but you never know what someone is going through and how an accidental discrimination comment can affect someone. In terms of the community level, creating a culture where it is okay for college males to talk about what one is going through is vital. The first step could be hiring a professional psychologist to work during the school year on a college campus with male and female college students. There could be open psychology appointments on college campuses for students year around paid by the college. One can call and schedule an appointment and no one has to know. During orientation, this could be talked about and promoted so from day one when the students step on campus, they know it is okay to open up about their feelings to a psychologist whenever they need to.
Elevated depression rates among minority individuals are largely associated with greater health burdens and lack of health insurance, factors amenable to public policy intervention (Dunlop DD et al, 2003). This is something to keep an eye on and potentially talk about this with the psychologist across campus. They could talk about the risk of being depressed and these associations to help them plan out how to prevent those health burdens and lack of health insurance.
“Sad Man Depressed” by Daniel Reche, pixabay is under a Pixabay license
“Students Classroom” by ken19991210, pixabay is under a Pixabay license
Key Takeaways
- Depression is found in college men in the United States from all different races and backgrounds, and there is a correlation between certain races having higher levels of depression due to discrimination or a low sense of belonging.
- While there is a lack of accurate self reporting with Latino and Black male college students across the United States, it was found that biracial students, followed by Asain students, experience the highest levels of depression across college men in the United States.
- Building relationships and being open to others is the most important thing when it comes to preventing and coping with depression to increase one’s sense of belonging along with increasing one’s ability to get over depression.
Chapter Review Questions
- To be diagnosed with depression, symptoms must last how long?
- A. 1 week
- B. 2 weeks
- C. 3 weeks
- D. 4 weeks
- How much more likely is a man to commit suicide than a woman?
- A. Not as likely
- B. 2 times
- C. 3-4 times
- D. 5-6 times
- The Journal of College Student Development found that _____ is directly associated with a higher level of depression.
- A. Racial discrimination
- B. Low self esteem
- C. Divorced parents
- D. Mean teachers
- Which race experienced the lowest depression score?
- A. Black Americans
- B. Asian Americans
- C. Latino Americans
- D. White Americans
- What is belonging?
- A. An important feeling that involves the belief that one has support and community
- B. Something someone owns
- C. A feeling someone gets when they are depressed
- D. All the above
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Apa PsycNet. American Psychological Association. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://psycnet.apa.org/home
Asher BlackDeer, A., Patterson Silver Wolf, David A., Maguin, E., & Beeler-Stinn, S. (2021). Depression and anxiety among college students: Understanding the impact on grade average and differences in gender and ethnicity. Journal of American College Health, ahead-of-print(-), 1-12. 10.1080/07448481.2021.1920954
Barbour, E. K., Smallwood, S. W., & Hurt, Y. (2021). Examining social activity, need to belong, and depression among college students. Journal of American College Health, , 1-9. 10.1080/07448481.2021.1967357
Chen, J. A., Stevens, C., Wong, S., & Liu, C. H. (2019). Psychiatric Symptoms and Diagnoses Among U.S. College Students: A Comparison by Race and Ethnicity. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 70(6), 442–449. https://doi-org.libproxy.clemson.edu/10.1176/appi.ps.201800388
Dunlop DD, Song J, Lyons JS, Manheim LM, Chang RW. Racial/ethnic differences in rates of depression among preretirement adults. Am J Public Health. 2003 Nov;93(11):1945-52. doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.11.1945. PMID: 14600071; PMCID: PMC1199525.
Juang, L., Ittel, A., Hoferichter, F., & Miriam Gallarin, M. (2016). Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Adjustment Among Ethnically Diverse College Students: Family and Peer Support as Protective Factors. Journal of College Student Development, 57(4), 380-394. 10.1353/csd.2016.0048
Kalibatseva, Z., Leong, F. T. L., Ham, E. H., Lannert, B. K., & Chen, Y. (2017). Loss of Face, Intergenerational Family Conflict, and Depression Among Asian American and European American College Students. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 126-133. 10.1037/aap0000067
Keum, B. T., Miller, M. J., & Inkelas, K. K. (2018). Testing the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the PHQ-9 Across Racially Diverse U.S. College Students. Psychological Assessment; Psychol Assess, 30(8), 1096-1106. 10.1037/pas0000550
Torres-Harding, S., Torres, L., & Yeo, E. (2020). Depression and Perceived Stress as Mediators Between Racial Microaggressions and Somatic Symptoms in College Students of Color. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry; Am J Orthopsychiatry, 90(1), 125-135. 10.1037/ort0000408
Whisman, M. A., Judd, C. M., Whiteford, N. T., & Gelhorn, H. L. (2013). Measurement Invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory–Second Edition (BDI-II) Across Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in College Students. Assessment, 20(4), 419-428. 10.1177/1073191112460273
What is depression? Psychiatry.org – What Is Depression? (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2022
Why talking about your depression is the key to recovery, according to a psychologist. Healthshots. (2021, May 9). Retrieved November 4, 2022
