Emma Salmon

Scott Kneece
WRIT 2
18 March 2016
The Disciplines Behind Anxiety and Depression
Today, millions of people continue to suffer from anxiety and depression and the ways
they affect ones life. Considering this, anxiety and depression is a good topic to discuss by using
two different academic disciplines. The two disciplines chosen are psychological/sociological
viewpoint and a neuroscience viewpoint. In regards to this topic, these two disciplines are
different in the information that is presented and how they each approach the information and
evidence from their studies. For the purpose of this topic, the most effective discipline would be
the psychology and sociology viewpoint because it provides detailed information in regards to
the different genders and how they respond when exposed to anxiety and depression induced
factors. Although the brain is an important aspect to mention when discussing anxiety and
depression, the psychological and sociological viewpoint is the most effect because of the
extensive knowledge they have on the different genders and their reactions to certain situations
they are put in.
The reason that I have chosen this topic in particular is because it relates to me
personally. I, unfortunately, am one of the many that suffers with anxiety and depression.
Throughout the time that I have been dealing it, I have always wondered why. Why me? Why do
I have to deal with this but not everyone does? How is that fair? At the end of this assignment, I
am still left with the question of why. Everyone in the world has a different brain, personality and
so on. Meaning that everyone reacts differently to certain things/events, so it is more difficult to

Salmon 2
figure out an explanation for something like anxiety or depression. It is difficult to justify why.
Why does it happen in women more than men? Does it actually? There are a variety of different
questions that I have for this specific topic but for now I am still stuck with why. Why me?
Within these specific disciplines, I hope to find the answer.
For the psychological and sociological viewpoint, the example is an article called
Gender Differences In the Incidence of Depression and Anxiety: Econometric Evidence From
the USA by Vani Borooah. Borooahs article is about [h]ow much of the observed difference in
depression rates between men and women may be explained by differences between them in
their exposure, and how much may be explained by differences between them in their response,
to depression-inducing factors (Borooah 663). The study focused on how men and women
would respond to situations pertaining to anxiety or depression and then looked at the ways they
reacted differently. Within the study, it was revealed that there is a significantly large gender
bias to depression and anxiety with women being much more likely than men to have these
conditions (Borooah 664). This is how it is, not just in the United States, but also in almost
every country.
For some reason, women are more prone to anxiety and depression over men. The study
also states how women are more likely to be exposed to depression-inducing factors, such as
enduring sexual assault as a child. The way people react in situations like this determines if
anxiety and depression will occur later in life. With women, they have more of a possibility of
being abused or sexually assaulted so this negatively impacts them at that time and later in life as
well. With this specific work, there is no specific audience intended. More than likely it was
written with the thought that intellectual people will be reading it because it was printed in a
scholarly journal. Since this study is found within a scientific journal, the readers are more likely

Salmon 3
to be intelligent and slightly familiar with the topic already. This study was particularly
interesting because it was researching and testing the exact question that was posed in the
beginning of this essay. The psychological and sociological viewpoint is helpful in gathering
information and some answers to the questions about anxiety and depression, but we must look
at the brain in order to understand more about these diseases.
With anxiety and depression, they revolve around the brain and its activity. The brain is
where anxiety and depression essentially form and begin to happen. In neuroscience, the main
focus is the brain and how it works and how certain things occur within it. Anxiety and
depression are emotionally based illnesses and emotion primarily occurs and develops within the
brain. An exampled for this discipline is an article called Gender-Common and Specific
Neuroanatomical Basis of Human Anxiety-Related Personality Traits, by a group of
neuroscientists in Japan. With this study, they examined right-handed healthy individuals in
the third and fourth decades of life [and] underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging scans
and Temperament and Character Inventory (Yamasue et al. 46). Basically the researchers
scanned the participants brains and then got a sense of their personalities and traits in order to
analyze them. With research like this, the wording can be a little more complex than a normal
article but that is because they are written for scientific journals with an educated audience in
mind. Those who will read this will most likely be educated and familiarity with this type of
research and the topic as well.
In this particular study, they look at the score of harm avoidance (HA) using voxel-based
morphometry, which is an analysis technique to investigate the brain (Yamasue et al. 46). The
study focuses solely on the brain and how certain aspects react within different genders and
different parts of the brain. According to the study, they found that higher scores of HA were

Salmon 4
associated with smaller regional gray matter volume in the right hippocampus, which was
common to both genders but female-specific correlation was found between higher
anxiety-related personality traits and smaller regional brain volume in the left anterior prefrontal
cortex (Yamasue et al. 46). The brain holds many answers to our questions but the complexity
of it makes it difficult to research. This study was able to find correlations between genders and
anxiety and depression but they are unable to provide concrete proof and specific answers as to
why there even is a difference of these diseases within the two different genders. With this study,
they were able to show that in one part of the brain the possibility of the diseases is the same
with both genders but in the left anterior prefrontal cortex, it was specific to females. The brain
can be a good source of information when discussing topics such as anxiety and depression,
though psychology and sociology studies can provide more answers and concrete evidence as
well.
With the psychological and sociological study, the purpose was to see if they could
answer the question of how much of the observed difference in depression rates between men
and women may be explained by differences between them in their exposure and differences
between them in their response (Borooah 663). The main idea was to conduct the study,
gather as much information as they could and then see if they could answer this question. In this
study, they used an integrative model that encompassed both exposure and response effects.
Borooah claimed that she also wanted to observe the differences in their specific exposures and
then the differences of their responses to the depression-inducing factors (Borooah 665). The
study was conducted in order to find answers to the questions that many of us have, including
me.

Salmon 5
Borooah uses social factors in order to demonstrate psychological responses within the
participants. The point was to see how people reacted in certain situations and how they could
handle the situation psychologically as well. The way people react and respond to certain
situations is important when determining the possibility of them developing anxiety and
depression. With this specific study, they focus on a specific situation and then record the
responses of the participants. This is interesting because she is combining to two different, yet
similar, disciplines in order to find the answers to her questions. Within this study, as well as
other studies in these fields, they see how the different genders and types of people respond in
certain situations and why they respond the way they do. This is important when talking
specifically about the differences of anxiety and depression within men and women because the
way someone handles a certain situation is reflective of their personality and how they might
handle other things in life as well. For instance, Borooah states that women might be more likely
to be exposed to depression-inducing factors, such as being abused during childhood (Borooah
664). This example shows how, a certain event and the way the person handles it, can affect them
later in life concerning their mental health. Women and men will handle these kinds of situations
differently. In fact, everyone, regardless of gender or race, will react and handle situations like
this differently. These disciplines study that and look to see how it relates to anxiety and
depression. With this study, the main focus is sociological factors but the psychological aspects
are important as well. These factors include the brain.
Although the brain was discussed previously, it is still important in regards to this study.
Our personalities and the way we react in situations come from the brain and how it is wired
inside us. The brain is an important aspect of anxiety and depression and can reveal a lot of
information about it; the only problem is the fact that the brain is very complex and it is difficult

Salmon 6
to study, unlike sociological factors. This specific study is able to find some answers regarding
the difference of depression and anxiety between men and women, but how do these answers
compare to the ones that occur in the neuroscience viewpoint?
With this study, the purpose was to explore the relationships between regional brain
volume and anxiety-related personality traits, [because it] is important for understanding
preexisting vulnerability to depressive and anxiety disorders (Yamasue et al. 46). After
conducting the study, they were able to discover that smaller right hippocampal volume
underlies the basis for higher anxiety-related traits common to both genders, [and] anterior
prefrontal volume contributes only in females (Yamasue et al. 46). With this, one can use the
information that was gathered to conduct another study to get more detailed results. When it
comes to the brain, it involves an extensive amount of research in order to get all the answers we
desire. In specific to the different genders, this study revealed a significant female-specific
association between HA and regional volume in the left anterior prefrontal cortex (Yamasue et
al. 50). By conducting the study, they were able to find correlations with the different genders
and their brain activity but are still unable to provide concrete answers on why there is a
difference concerning gender. When it comes to understanding the brain, it takes time and an
enormous amount of research to comprehend. Researching the brain is an important aspect in the
process of answering the question of why there is a difference with anxiety and depression within
males and females. Along with this, it is important to analyze social circumstances and actions as
well. The psychological/sociological and neuroscience disciplines have difference and
similarities to each other and are also important in answering the question we have regarding
these mental diseases.

Salmon 7
The psychological/sociological and neuroscience viewpoints have both similarities and
differences. Their similarities include comparable pieces of evidence, the format of the writing,
and the type of evidence that is used. They are also similar because they both contain aspects of
psychology. They focus on specific studies to gather their information from. They use their
evidence with the intent to prove their points, the central point of a scientific study: to find the
answer to the question posed at the beginning. These two sources are different though in the way
they gather their information. With neuroscience, they scan and study the brain and with
psychology and sociology, they study specific social circumstances and responses to particular
situations. These two sources contain a lot of information, are similar to one another with
differences as well; but I believe that the psychological and sociological viewpoint is the most
affective of the two. The reason that this viewpoint is more affective than the neuroscience one is
because they are able to provide us with more concrete answers and evidence in regards to
anxiety and depression. By analyzing social behavior and responses to situations, one is able to
determine the likelihood of developing depression by seeing how a person acts and reacts.
Although I see this specific discipline as more effective, neuroscience is still very important
when it comes to studying anxiety and depression within the brain.
In this world, women are roughly twice as likely as men to suffer depression
(Borooah 664). Why is this the case? What happens in a woman that doesnt occur in a man?
These are some questions that were posed at the beginning of this discussion and are still left to
be answered at the end of it. Anxiety and depression affect people worldwide and are very
common as well. Unfortunately, we are unable to determine why this is this case just yet or why
they have to exist at all. For those who suffer anxiety and depression, like myself, they
understand the difficulties of having to deal with these illnesses and, more than likely, would like

Salmon 8
some answers; as I know that I would definitely like answers to the questions that have been
state above. I believe that the best way to go about it is to utilize psychology and sociology in
order to get the answers we are searching for. With these disciplines, they are able to provide
information on the topic and some understanding as well. Although I understand that research
takes time, I hope that one day we are able to answer all the questions regarding this topic
through research that, hopefully one day, will be conducted.

Salmon 9
Abstract: For this article I will be discussing the topic of anxiety and depression. More
specifically, I will be looking into the differences of anxiety and depression between the different
genders and see how each gender reacts/deals with the illnesses. My main question going into
this research is why are women more prevalent to anxiety and depression than men? I would also
like to know the cause of anxiety and depression in general, but for these purposes, that question
is too broad. I am also interested in finding out if certain people are predisposed to these illnesses
due to their family history. With this, my questions will be the following: why do anxiety and
depression form to begin with, what are the differences with anxiety and depression between the
different genders, and finally, are certain people predisposed to these illnesses considering their
family history. My methodology in trying to find the answers of these questions is to do an
enormous amount of research and conduct scientific studies as well. We want to analyze the
brain and how it coincides with these illnesses. Scientific studies will be the most useful with
answering the three questions I would like to have answered regarding the topic. The reason I
want to focus on the brain is because that is where anxiety and depression form and thats where
all of our emotions and reason are stored. The brain is the key to understanding anxiety and
depression and why they occur. The findings I expect to find would be, hopefully, the answers to
all the questions I have regarding this topic; although I am aware that that would require a lot of
researching and scientific studies as well.

Salmon 10
Works Cited
Borooah, Vani K. "Gender Differences In The Incidence Of Depression And Anxiety:
Econometric Evidence From The USA." Journal Of Happiness Studies 11.6 (2010): 663682. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.
Yamasue, Hidenori, Osamu Abe, Motomu Suga, Haruyasu Yamada, Hideyuki Inoue, Mamoru
Tochigi, Mark Rogers, Shigeki Aoki, Nobumasa Kato, and Kiyoto Kasai. "GenderCommon and Specific Neuroanatomical Basis of Human Anxiety-Related Personality
Traits." Cerebral Cortex 1st ser. 7.3 (2007): 113-8655. EBSCO. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.