Anxiety disorders

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are more prevalent among women than men. A higher prevalence of anxiety in women compared with men has been repeatedly reported in the literature. The disorders include agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Similar data between the two sexes have been obtained for social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This suggests that biological, psychosocial, and cultural factors are related. The aim of this review is to incorporate sex and gender considerations into anxiety disorders, including current psychological theories and treatment of anxiety disorders. Lower levels of assertiveness and self-support in women compared with men and men’s lower levels of inclination toward dependency and helplessness contribute to the higher prevalence of reported anxiety in women. Gendered aspects of daily life can play a role as well. The relationship between psychopathology and femininity is itself a matter of discussion because it is assumed that masculine behavior is taken as the standard for mental health. From our point of view and because the methodological problems in research did not permit an objective review of this kind of complex causation, this could only result in speculation with regard to the available data. To explore the role of culture and ethnicity, future research is needed. The World Health Organization has identified gender as a critical determinant of mental Health and mental illness and suggested that integrating gender considerations in health research contributes to better science and consequently to more effective and efficient mental health programs.