Are Gender Effects Being Neglected in Schizophrenia Research?

Abstract
Research on schizophrenia published in four professional journals—Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, and American Journal of Psychiatry—over a 5-year period from January 1985 through December 1989 was examined for gender composition of subject samples and gender analyses of findings. Results indicate a continued predominance of male subjects in schizophrenia research, with males outnumbering females two to one, and frequent neglect of possible gender differences within mixed-sex samples. Possible explanations for the male bias are considered and greater research and editorial attention to possible gender effects are urged.