Social participation and self-reported depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults

Abstract

Objectives

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased depressive symptoms and disrupted activities that might typically mitigate depressive symptoms. Pandemic restrictions to social participation that supports well-being in older adults may contribute to worse mental health outcomes, but how participation relates to pandemic depressive symptoms is unclear.

Methods

Using longitudinal data from the nationally representative National Health and Aging Trends Study (N = 3181), we assessed whether older adults’ pandemic depressive symptoms were associated with participation in paid work, volunteering, religious services, and other organized activities during the pandemic, as well as changes in participation in these activities compared to pre-pandemic engagement.

Results

Of participation during the pandemic, only attending religious services predicted pandemic depression, with religious attendance associated with higher risk of mild pandemic depressive symptoms. However, for changes in participation, stopping paid work during the pandemic predicted higher risk of moderate/severe pandemic depressive levels, while stopping attending religious services predicted lower risk of mild pandemic depression.

Conclusion

This work demonstrates the importance of social participation for mental health and indicates what types of disruptions may reduce integration to increase older adults’ vulnerability to depressive symptoms during a global pandemic.

Keywords:

• Depressive symptoms
• participation
• older adults
• social integration
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This research was partly supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01AG061118). This study uses data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, produced and distributed by www.nhats.org with funding from the National Institute on Aging (grant number U01AG32947).