Social support and depression among the black and white elderly

Abstract

This study of urban elderly persons (age 60+) examines Black/White differences with regard to a set of social support factors, physical health, and ego strength and their relationship t o depression. Data were collected in interviews of community residents of Nashville. The two groups of elderly respondents were very similar relative to age, marital status, education, and income levels. The groups did not differ on the number of medical problems, presence of depression, or social support variables, except for ego strength, in which White respondents had poorer ego strength than did Black respondents. Regression analyses revealed different sets of depression correlates for the groups. Although ego strength was a common correlate of depression for both groups, among Black respondents, lower social support in the areas of reliability, assurance, and guidance was associated with higher levels of depression. Among White respondents, poor social integration, reduction in support network size, and increase in medical problems contributed to higher depression. A discussion of these findings is provided.