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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Employment and occupation effects on depressive symptoms in older Americans
— does working past age 65 protect against depression? | | Author(s) | Sharon L Christ, David J Lee, Lora E Fleming |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 62B, no 6, November 2007 |
| Pages | pp S399-S403 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Employment of older people ; Occupations ; Depression ; Symptoms ; Correlation ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The effects are examined of work status, occupational sector and occupation type on type of depression in older Americans. The authors analysed a nationally representative sample of 23247 respondents aged 65-88 from the US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) combined for 1997 to 2000. They used structured equation models with latent variables to assess relationships between work or occupation and depressive symptoms. Older Americans who work had lower levels of depressive symptoms as compared to older non-workers. Membership in several worker groups or generally higher status occupations protected against depressive symptoms. After controlling for disability, the difference in level of depressive symptoms for workers versus non-workers did not persist. However, workers in specific occupational sectors and types reported different levels of depressive symptoms, even when controlling for disability. The mental health benefits of working for people aged 65+ may be due to the healthy worker effect. However, the particular job sector in which older workers are employed matters. Socio-economic status and financial versus personal motivations for working are potentially important explanations for differences. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-080307223 A |
| Classmark | GC: XM: ENR: CT: 49: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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