Gender differences in depression scores of Iranian and german medical students

Jamshid Ahmadi; Nahid Ahmadi; Fereshteh Soltani; Fatemeh Bayat

Gender differences in depression scores of Iranian and german medical students

Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2014 Winter;8(4):70-3.

Authors

Jamshid Ahmadi¹, Nahid Ahmadi², Fereshteh Soltani², Fatemeh Bayat³

Affiliations

¹ Professor and Founder Director, Substance Abuse Research Center; Dual Diagnosis Ward; Shiraz University of Medical Sciences; Shiraz; Iran.
² General Physician, Substance Abuse Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
³ Pharmacist, School of Pharmacy, Düsseldorf University, Germany.

PMID: 25798177
PMCID: PMC4364480

Abstract

Objective: The aim was to evaluate gender differences in depression scores of Iranian and German medical students.

Methods: Two hundred Iranian medical students (100 men and 100 women) and 200 German medical students (100 men and 100 women) were selected randomly and completed the English form of the self-rating Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results: Analysis gave a mean rating of 10.7 ± 6.6 for Iranian men and 10.9 ± 7.81 for Iranian women (NS). Also, 5 ± 4.9 for German men and 5.6 ± 5.0 for German women (NS). On Item 2, which asked whether the person was pessimistic 33% of Iranian men and 30% of Iranian women indicated that they were pessimistic (NS). Also, 21% of German men and 20% of German women indicated that they were pessimistic (NS). On Item 9, which asked about suicidal tendencies, 9% of Iranian men and 13% of Iranian women reported as having suicidal tendencies (NS). Also, 13% of German men and 21% of German women reported as having self-harming thoughts (NS).

Conclusion: The present study showed no gender differences in Iranian and German medical students' scores on the BDI.

Keywords: Depression; Gender Differences; German; Iranian; Medical Students.