STRESS, HEALTH, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN OLDER ADULTS AT THREE TIME POINTS OVER 18 MONTHS

This descriptive study is a secondary analysis of data that examined depressive symptoms in a random sample of 429 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older. Participants were classified as having consistently high (n = 20), consistently low (n = 327), or fluctuating (n = 82) levels of depre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Issues in mental health nursing 1998, Vol.19 (3), p.207-224
Main Authors: Musil, C M, Haug, M R, Warner, C D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - psychology
Depression - complications
Depression - psychology
Female
Health Status
Humans
Life Change Events
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Nursing
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Severity of Illness Index
Stress, Psychological - complications
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Time Factors
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Summary:This descriptive study is a secondary analysis of data that examined depressive symptoms in a random sample of 429 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older. Participants were classified as having consistently high (n = 20), consistently low (n = 327), or fluctuating (n = 82) levels of depressive symptoms, based on scores from the Center for Epidemiological StudiesDepression Scale (CES-D; L. S. Radloff, 1977) at three time points over the course of 18 months. Differences in stress (life events and daily hassles), health (selfassessed health and physical complaints), and biographic variables among the 3 groups were examined. One quarter of the sample reported high depressive symptoms at least once over 18 months. There were significant differences among the 3 symptom groups on each of the stress and health measures and on marital status. The findings support the relationship among stress, health, and depressive symptoms over time. Implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed.
ISSN:0161-2840
1096-4673
DOI:10.1080/016128498249033