Abstract
BackgroundScant research has taken a life-course perspective to explore the longitudinal impact of socioeconomic disadvantage and perceived social support on the psychological well-being of older women. We sought to explore whether socioeconomic disadvantage and perceived social support in mid-life are associated with subsequent depressive symptomatology among older Taiwanese women.MethodsThis study was based on data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging conducted on a nationally representative sample (n = 1,073) of women aged 50 and above with a 12-year follow up. Mid-life socioeconomic disadvantage was assessed by socioeconomic status (SES) (i.e., educational attainment, major lifetime occupation in adulthood, and employment status) and economic strain. Perceived social support included three dimensions: listening, caring, and sick care. We used the short form of the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale that measures depressive symptomatology within two domains (negative affect and lack of positive affect). Growth curve models were employed to predict the relationships between mid-life socioeconomic disadvantage, perceived social support, and subsequent depressive trajectories, controlling for aging effects.ResultsMultivariate analyses demonstrated older women in a socioeconomic disadvantaged position are more likely to report higher initial levels of depressive symptoms in both domains; lack of formal education did not exacerbate depressive symptoms in the lack of positive affect domain over time. In addition, mid-life perceived positive social support in caring and sick care was associated with lower initial levels of depressive symptoms in both domains.ConclusionsOur results suggest independent effects of mid-life socioeconomic disadvantage and perceived social support on subsequent depressive symptomatology among older Taiwanese women.
Highlights
Scant research has taken a life-course perspective to explore the longitudinal impact of socioeconomic disadvantage and perceived social support on the psychological well-being of older women
In summary, our findings demonstrated the multidimensional nature of socioeconomic status (SES) and perceived social support and their effects on trajectories of depressive symptomatology within two distinct domains for older Taiwanese women
These results underscore the importance of midlife social environment on depressive symptomatology in the population of elderly women, independent of aging
Summary
Scant research has taken a life-course perspective to explore the longitudinal impact of socioeconomic disadvantage and perceived social support on the psychological well-being of older women. Longitudinal studies have begun to underscore the importance of life span predictors as contributing factors leading to an increased likelihood of mental health problems [7,8] This life-course perspective [9] posits that the combination, accumulation, and/or interactions of various personal and professional environments and experiences throughout life synergistically create social disparities and health gradients in later years. This approach emphasizes the importance of cumulative effects from earlier-life to later-life on individual health [9]. Low midlife SES is associated with more limited social resources, inadequate diet and a steady decline in cognition, all of which may increase the risk of subsequent health problems; as a result, we expected to observe deteriorating effects of accumulating SES disadvantage on subsequent depressive symptomatology [9]
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