Differences in exposure or reactivity to environmental factors have also been widely studied as an explanation for increased rates of mood disorders among females. Women have tended to experience higher rates of sexual abuse as children and interpersonal violence as adults, as well as other interpersonal stressors, including societal gender inequality and discrimination. 40 Women may also be more predisposed to mood disorders due to increased psychological sensitivity and lower self‐esteem than men. 40 In contrast, men have been shown to experience a need to conform to specific masculine gender roles that may inhibit their reporting of depressive or anxiety symptoms due to implications for perceived weakness, or strength. 41 This under‐reporting may also reduce treatment‐seeking behavior in men. 41 There is also evidence that similar life events may have differential influences on mood disorders in males and females. Using the opposite sex twin approach (discussed below), Kendler and colleagues 42 found that whereas acute stressors and prior depression and behavioral disorders were associated with depression in males, interpersonal relationships combined with temperamental factors had greater influence in the onset of depression in females.
