The relationship between demographics, health variables and subjective depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of community -dwelling adults aged 65 and older

his study investigates relationships between age and depression in a nationally representative sample of adults aged sixty-five and older. These relationships are examined empirically by chi square analysis in relation to the following types of variables: demographic, physical health, mental health, family structure and social health, and spiritual and religious health. The main purpose of this study is to identify in older community-dwelling adults variables associated with depressive symptomology in an effort to provide health care professionals a relevant list of variables that may be associated with depressive symptoms in their patients. This study also demonstrates the effective use of a single-item depression screen for older adults. Broad findings are discussed, followed by a more specific discussion of each of the variables controlled by AGE65 (young-old versus old-old) and GENDER. Results show that the following variables are associated with an increased likelihood of depression in community dwelling older adults: female gender; divorced/separated, widowed, or never-married status; lack of a high school education; income less than...