The temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and self-rated health across adulthood

Objective: Depressive symptoms have been found to relate to diminished self-rated health (SRH), which is a reliable index of general health. Despite such associations, there is limited research examining the bidirectional temporal relationship between these variables. The current study is the first...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aging & mental health 2023-09, Vol.27 (9), p.1676-1683
Main Authors: Siedlecki, Karen L., Kobrinsky, Veronika, Leqola, Ahang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Age groups
Aging
Bidirectionality
Cognitive ability
Cross-lagged panel analysis
depressive symptoms
Health
Health status
Mental depression
Middle age
Multivariate statistical analysis
Older people
Self evaluation
self-rated health
Structural equation modeling
Symptoms
Time
Variables
Virginia Cognitive Aging Project
Young adults
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: Depressive symptoms have been found to relate to diminished self-rated health (SRH), which is a reliable index of general health. Despite such associations, there is limited research examining the bidirectional temporal relationship between these variables. The current study is the first to investigate the longitudinal relationship between depressive symptoms and SRH utilizing a cross-lagged panel analysis in a sample that spans adulthood (ages 18-93). Method: Data from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project were used to examine the temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and SRH in a cross-lagged panel analysis using structural equation modeling. Results: A bidirectional temporal relationship, which was not moderated by age, was established between depressive symptoms and SRH. Conclusion: This article is the first to demonstrate that depressive symptoms and SRH influence each other reciprocally over time across adulthood, even after controlling for relevant variables. Considering the ubiquity and ramifications of depressive symptoms among American adults, these results highlight the importance of investigating mechanisms that could elucidate the link between the variables in question.
ISSN:1360-7863
1364-6915
DOI:10.1080/13607863.2022.2116403