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Objective: It was reported that women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) had experienced more marital problems than men with GAD. In this article, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the sociodemographic features and symptom distribution in GAD.
Method: A total of 60 patients were included in the study. All participants were asked to complete SCL-90, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and sociodemographic data form.
Results: Significant differences were found between male and female patients with GAD at subscales of SCL-90 (GSI) (phobic (p<.01), paranoid (p<0.05), anger (p<0.01), depression (p<0.01), anxiety (p<0.05), and somatization (p<0.01)) and the Beck depression scale scores (p<0.05). Age and level of education shows significant difference between married singles. The average age of the patients who was married was higher. In contrast, the average education level of the singles was higher than married people. The married and single patients showed no significant difference in terms of GSI. Anger subscale of the SCL-90 was found to be higher in married patients.
Conclusion: Severity of symptoms of GAD may be different between genders as well as different sets of symptoms can vary according to the gender. In addition, the distribution of symptoms varies among different age groups (i.e. anger). Gender should be considered as a factor that can affect the prognosis of GAD. This cross-sectional study has shown that symptoms in women may be more severe than men.