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Relationship between spouse/partner support and depressive symptoms in older adults: gender difference
- Authors:
- CHOI Namkee G., HA Jung-Hwa
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(3), April 2011, pp.307-317.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of spouse or partner support that may be associated with depressive symptoms in late life, and the gender difference in such relationships. The data for this study came from face-to-face interviews with 2924 community-dwelling individuals aged 57-85 conducted as part of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, Wave 1. Depressive symptoms were measured by the 11-item, 4-point Center for Epidemiologic Scale for Depression (CES-D), and spouse/partner support was measured by a 4-item scale, an abbreviated version of the original spouse support/strain scale developed by Schuster et al. (1990). The results from regression analyses showed that low perceived spouse/partner support, as opposed to unavailability of the support, was associated with higher depressive symptomatology among women only, while high spouse/partner support was associated with lower depressive symptomatology for both genders. These relationship patterns were found in both younger and older groups of men and women. The results demonstrate that, unlike older men with unsupportive spouses/partners, older women with unsupportive spouses/partners appear to be worse off emotionally than their peers who lack spouses/partners.