title: Change in depressive symptoms in the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging.
abstract: Depressive symptoms have been represented in the research and clinical literature in terms of both an episodic phenomenon and as enduring individual differences. We investigated depressive symptoms longitudinally in a sample of older adults. Participants were 737 individuals (M(Age) = 73 years initially, 39% women) in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who provided biennial Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression data on up to five occasions over an 8-year period. We found both trait and state-residual variability, with symptoms increasing longitudinally on all subscales and accounting for an approximately 1-point increase per decade. Trait-like variability accounted for at least two thirds of the reliable variance. Interindividual differences were consistent over time, but occasion-specific variability diminished across occasions.
authors.affiliation: Polisher Research Institute, Madlyn and Leonard Abramson Center for Jewish Life, 1425 Horsham Road, North Wales, PA 19454-1320, USA. adavey@abramsoncenter.org
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Halverson
authors.forename: Alan B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Zonderman
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires