Sex differences in emotional reactivity to daily life stress in psychosis

Abstract

Background

A recent study did not find clear-cut sex differences in psychotic symptoms. Studies investigating altered stress reactivity more consistently report differences between the sexes, although the results are contradicting in suggesting either men or women to be more stress-sensitive. We assessed self-reported experiences in the context of real-life to more fully understand the nature of sex differences in psychosis.

Methods

We employed the Experience Sampling Method, a structured diary technique, to investigate in real-life:

– symptoms;

– behavior in context;

– underlying mechanisms in 283 healthy controls, 268 subjects at risk for psychosis and 232 patients with psychotic disorder.

Results

Multilevel regression analyses revealed no differences in symptom expression between the sexes. Similarly, men and women did not differ in their level of social interaction and overall activity. However, men at increased risk of psychosis were more often alone and were less involved in goal-directed activities compared to women. Finally, women reported more emotional reactivity to daily life stress then men but women also reported more positive affect when pleasant events had happened.

Discussion

The data thus suggest only minor differences between men and women in psychotic symptoms and actual behavior. However, whenever differences were apparent, they consistently pointed towards more severe symptoms and more deficiencies in men compared to women. In contrast, increased environmental reactivity in women (to both negative and positive environments) in addition to more social contacts may constitute a protective factor for the development of more severe psychopathology.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.