Gender and Cohort Influences on Depressive Trajectories

The purpose of this longitudinal study is to identify depressive trajectories between women and men ages 40 or older, along with the influence of cohort over the course of a decade. A national probability sample of 2,080 men and 3,125 women from middle to older age are drawn from the 1st wave through 10th wave of Korea welfare panel study (KOWPS). Results of multilevel multiple regression analyses show that at the intraindividual level, depressive symptoms are curvilinear over the decade. At the interindividual level, both gender and cohort interact with the level of depression. The depression slope for females is milder than for males, suggesting that the depressive symptoms for the elderly female are more severe over a ten year duration. Relative to the older cohort, the slope of the younger cohort is steeper, indicating the depressive symptoms of the older cohort stay higher over a decade. This study implies that either being an elderly female or older cohort deserves better attention to alleviate the level of depression.