title: Predictors of mental health in midlife and older Australian women: A multilevel investigation.
abstract: The purpose of this article is to examine the factors associated with women's mental health. A random sample of 340 Australian women aged 40-55 completed surveys on menopausal and lifestyle factors and mental health at three time points. We used hierarchical models to show that decrements in mental health were associated with a corresponding increase in some midlife symptoms (p < .01), time (p < .01), and poor physical health (p < .01), but the effect was not permanent. In older women, mental health was associated with physical functioning, climacteric symptoms, and time, while individual variations in mental health score were largely explained by lifestyle factors.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane , Queensland , Australia.
authors.forename: Charrlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Seib
authors.affiliation: b School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: b School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane , Queensland , Australia.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health