| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| Neighbourhood social environment and depressive symptoms in mid-life and beyond | | Author(s) | Mai Stafford, Anne McMunn, Roberto de Vogli |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 31, part 6, August 2011 |
| Pages | pp 893-910 |
| Source | http://www.journals.cambridge.org/aso |
| Keywords | Neighbourhoods, communities etc ; Social characteristics [elderly] ; Friendship ; Quality of life ; Depression ; Young elderly ; Middle aged ; Longitudinal surveys. |
| Annotation | The study aimed to examine the relationship between aspects of the neighbourhood social environment and subsequent depressive symptoms in over 7,500 people aged 50 and above taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Neighbourhood social environment at baseline was operationalised using four items capturing social cohesion and three items capturing perceived safety and associations with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) at two-year follow-up were assessed. Friendship quality and personal sense of control were tested as mediators of this relationship using structural equation modelling. Neighbourhood social cohesion was found to be associated with reporting fewer depressive symptoms independent of demographic and socioeconomic factors and baseline depressive symptoms. Friendship quality and sense of control mediated this association. The study highlights that greater personal sense of control, higher quality friendships and fewer depressive symptoms are found in neighbourhoods seen to be characterised by higher social cohesion. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-110721009 A |
| Classmark | RH: F: DS:SX: F:59: ENR: BBA: SE: 3J |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|