Racial/ethnic differences in the association between symptoms of depression and self-rated mental health among older adults.
The study examined racial/ethnic differences in the association between symptoms of depression and self-rated mental health among older adults. Data came from the first wave of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a population-based study of non-institutionalized older adults aged 57 to 85. The sample consisted of non-Hispanic Whites (n = 2,110), Blacks (n = 509), and Hispanics (n = 304). The association between symptoms of depression and self-rated mental health was weaker among minority groups than that among non-Hispanic Whites. Tests of interaction effects showed that the predictability of depressive symptoms to self-rated mental health was substantially weakened among Blacks of advanced ages and Hispanics with multiple chronic conditions. The study explored potential sources of racial/ethnic differences in subjective reports of mental health and called attention to older minorities with advanced ages and cormorbid conditions in mental health services and interventions.
School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd., D3500, Austin, TX, 78712, USA, yjang12@austin.utexas.edu.
Yuri
Y
Jang
Nan Sook
NS
Park
Suk-Young
SY
Kang
David A
DA
Chiriboga
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001741:Black or African American