Final answer:
Adolescent girls and adult women are more prone to depression than males due to a combination of biological changes, socialization differences, and greater vulnerability to stress in social relationships, indicating that all of these factors may contribute to the gender difference.
Step-by-step explanation:
Adolescent girls and adult women are more likely to suffer from depression than males for a variety of reasons. According to research, factors contributing to this gender difference include A. Biological changes such as hormonal fluctuations during puberty, B. Difference in socialization like societal expectations and gender-specific stressors, and C. Greater vulnerability to stress in social relationships, often due to the tendency of women to have more emotionally intensive relationships than men. The combination of these factors suggests that D. All of the above may explain the gender difference in the prevalence of depression between females and males.
Answer: D. All of the above may explain the gender difference.