Trajectories of depressive symptoms among older African Americans: the influence of neighborhood characteristics and gender

Abstract

Objectives

Focusing on older African Americans, this study aims to (1) identify 9-year trajectories of depressive symptoms, (2) examine the association between baseline neighborhood characteristics (i.e., social cohesion and physical disadvantage) and trajectories of depressive symptoms, and (3) test whether the effects of neighborhood characteristics on depressive symptoms trajectories differ by gender.

Methods

Data came from the National Health and Aging Trend Study. Older African Americans at baseline were selected (N = 1662) and followed up for eight rounds. Depressive symptom trajectories were estimated using group-based trajectory modeling. Weighted multinomial logistic regressions were conducted.

Results

Three trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified: “persistently low,” “moderate and increasing,” and “high and decreasing” (Objective 1). Objective 2 and 3 were partially supported. Specifically, high perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with a lower relative risk of being on the “moderate and increasing” versus the “persistently low” trajectory (RRR = 0.64, p < 0.01). The association between neighborhood physical disadvantage and depressive symptom trajectories was stronger among older African American men compared to women.

Conclusions

High levels of neighborhood social cohesion may protect against increasing depressive symptoms in older African Americans. Compared to women, older African American men may be more vulnerable to negative mental health effects of neighborhood physical disadvantage.

Keywords:

• Older Black Americans
• depression
• neighborhood context
• gender difference
• mental health

Acknowledgement

This study was presented in an oral paper session at the Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research on January 12, 2023, Phoenix, AZ.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (T32AG000221) (W.Q.), National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (P30AG015281) and the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research (C.L.E.), and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (P30AG072959) (A.W.N). Support was also received from grant P2CHD042849, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (C.L.E.). The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (U01AG032947) and was conducted by the Johns Hopkins University and University of Michigan. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.