Fertility trajectories and later-life depression among parents in England

Figures & data

Figure 1 Overview of ELSA data structure and conceptual linkages

Table 1 Distribution of sample by variables used in the analysis, by sex and age group

(a) Males aged 55–64 and 65+
	Age 55–64		Age 65+
	Percentage or mean (SD) in analytic sample	Number with non-missing data	Percentage or mean (SD) in analytic sample	Number with non-missing data
Total number		913		1,274
Current status (Wave 5, 2010–11)
3+ CES-D items	15.1	742	18.1	841
No current partner	11.6	769	20.6	889
Wave 3, 2006–07 and retrospective
Mean age	59.5	913	74.3	1,274
Early parenthood (first birth age < 23)	19.4	913	12.4	1,274
Short birth interval (<18 months)	17.0	913	19.7	1,274
Parity:	–	913	–	1,274
Two children	65.6	–	54.9	–
Three children	23.2	–	28.0	–
Four or more children	11.2	–	17.1	–
Ever divorced	26.7	771	17.2	1,034
Mean childhood SEP	0.340 (0.784)	770	0.063 (0.782)	1,034
Poor childhood health	30.4	770	30.7	1,029
Childhood adverse event(s)	25.8	627	22.0	877
Educational qualifications:	–	913	–	1,274
None	15.2	–	30.0	–
Intermediate	56.5	–	52.2	–
Higher	28.3	–	17.8	–
Teen smoker	57.6	750	55.3	1,015
Mean labour participation score (percentage of working life in employment)	79.0 (22.890)	770	79.1 (23.840)	1,024
Wave 4, 2008–09
Restricted social interaction	11.4	784	12.2	994
Mean social support:	–	784	­	994
0 (no support)	10.7	–	11.7	–
1	0.5	–	1.5	–
2	7.7	–	7.6	–
3	38.5	–	38.5	–
4 (high support)	42.6	–	40.7	–
Household wealth: (quintiles)	–	766	–	967
Q1 (lowest)	15.4	–	15.3	–
Q2	17.0	–	19.8	–
Q3	19.3	–	21.7	–
Q4	24.5	–	22.3	–
Q5 (highest)	23.7	–	20.9	–
Current smoker	12.7	786	9.4	983
Any functional limitation	35.0	786	60.6	993
(b) Females aged 55–64 and 65+
	Age 55–64		Age 65+
	Percentage or mean (SD) in analytic sample	Number with non-missing data	Percentage or mean (SD) in analytic sample	Number with non-missing data
Total number		1,194		1,625
Current status (Wave 5, 2010–11)
3+ CES-D items	19.7	984	30.3	1,128
No current partner	24.4	1,008	52.7	1,208
Wave 3, 2006–07 and retrospective
Mean age	59.4	1,194	74.6	1,625
Early parenthood (first birth age < 20)	17.0	1,194	8.1	1,625
Short birth interval (<18 months)	19.0	1,194	21.6	1,625
Parity:	–	1,194	–	1,625
Two children	62.2	–	51.8	–
Three children	27.2	–	29.5	–
Four or more children	10.6	–	18.8	–
Ever divorced	33.4	771	17.5	1,329
Mean childhood SEP	0.389 (0.772)	1,028	0.123 (0.857)	1,327
Poor childhood health	25.3	1,027	32.4	1,320
Childhood adverse event(s)	29.7	831	24.0	1,093
Educational qualifications:	–	1,194	–	1,625
None	24.2	–	46.5	–
Intermediate	59.8	–	47.0	–
Higher	16.0	–	6.5	–
Teen smoker	43.0	995	31.4	1,266
Mean labour participation score (percentage of working life in employment)	47.52 (21.416)	1,014	41.91 (22.291)	1,310
Wave 4, 2008–09
Restricted social interaction	10.0	1,029	14.3	1,329
Mean social support:	–	1,029	–	1,331
0 (no support)	10.0	–	13.8	–
1	0.6	–	1.7	–
2	7.4	–	13.8	–
3	34.7	–	41.3	–
4 (high support)	47.3	–	29.5	–
Household wealth: (quintiles)	–	1,000	–	1,302
Q1 (lowest)	18.6	–	22.8	–
Q2	18.4	–	23.7	–
Q3	20.4	–	21.2	–
Q4	21.0	–	17.1	–
Q5 (highest)	21.6	–	15.3	–
Current smoker	14.9	1,027	8.5	1,310
Any functional limitation	55.5	1,029	75.1	1,331

Notes: See ‘Measures’ subsection for details of variables. SD refers to the standard deviation. Tables refer to males/females aged 55+ in England and data collected 2006–11.

Source: ELSA, Waves 3–5.

Table 2 Direct associations (β from logistic regression) between fertility and other life course stressors and having three or more depressive symptoms (CES-D) in later life

(a) Men aged 55–64 and 65+
	Age 55–64			Age 65+
	Model 1: age only	Model 2: includes all childhood variables	Model 3: all variables	Model 1: age only	Model 2: includes all childhood variables	Model 3: all variables
Childhood and early adulthood
Childhood SEP	−0.67***	−0.64***	−0.20	−0.61***	−0.65***	−0.59***
Poor childhood health	0.21	0.29	0.14	0.10	0.21	0.26
Childhood adverse event(s)	0.80**	0.72**	0.96**	0.42	0.28	0.18
Teen smoker	0.08	−0.10	−0.31	0.02	−0.21	−0.35
Intermediate educational qualifications (ref. None)	−0.84**	−0.57	−0.39	−0.34	−0.07	0.03
Higher educational qualifications (ref. None)	−1.01***	−0.52	0.27	−0.82**	−0.22	−0.14
Family life course events
Early parenthood (first birth age < 23)	0.37	0.12	0.11	0.58*	0.58*	0.45
Short birth interval (<18 months)	0.29	−0.04	−0.76	0.02	−0.12	–0.32
High parity (4+)	0.79**	0.60	0.53	0.64**	0.48	0.50
Ever divorced	0.46	0.14	−0.20	0.29	0.10	−0.23
Working life
≥50 per cent of working life in employment	−0.55	−0.74*	−0.58	0.19	0.34	0.21
Household wealth	−0.49***	−0.37***	−0.22	−0.25***	−0.04	0.11
Current status
Restricted social interaction	0.65*	0.68	−11.70	0.63*	0.54	0.68
Social support = 1 (ref. = 0, No support)	1.22	0.19	−11.40	0.66	0.34	−0.19
Social support = 2 (ref. = 0, No support)	0.39	−0.30	−11.70	0.43	0.45	0.63
Social support = 3 (ref. = 0, No support)	−0.49	−0.65	−12.00	−0.51	−0.39	0.07
Social support = 4 (ref. = 0, No support)	−1.24***	−1.52**	−12.90	−0.98**	−0.83	−0.25
Current smoker	1.03***	0.80*	0.10	1.04***	0.91*	0.53
Any functional limitation	1.62***	1.68***	1.62***	0.94***	1.01***	0.90**
No current partner	1.05***	0.69	0.23	1.06***	0.81**	0.44
Age	0.04	0.01	0.04	0.052***	0.040*	0.02
Observations			497			611
(b) Women aged 55–64 and 65+
	Age 55–64			Age 65+
	Model 1: age only	Model 2: includes all childhood variables	Model 3: all variables	Model 1: age only	Model 2: includes all childhood variables	Model 3: all variables
Childhood and early adulthood
Childhood SEP	−0.48***	–0.46***	0.08	−0.36***	−0.29**	−0.22
Poor childhood health	0.33	0.10	0.14	−0.001	0.05	−0.19
Childhood adverse event(s)	0.65***	0.57**	0.73**	0.69***	0.62***	0.72***
Teen smoker	0.69***	0.62**	0.50*	0.41**	0.25	0.06
Intermediate educational qualifications (ref. None)	−0.76***	−0.44	−0.27	−0.38**	−0.12	0.07
Higher educational qualifications (ref. None)	−1.26***	−0.87*	−0.47	−0.28	0.15	0.39
Family life course events
Early parenthood (first birth age < 20)	1.07***	0.95***	0.45	0.46	0.24	0.04
Short birth interval (<18 months)	0.66***	0.34	0.13	0.21	0.20	0.28
High parity (4+)	0.98***	0.79**	0.22	0.25	0.03	−0.50
Ever divorced	0.64***	0.73***	0.32	0.43*	0.54**	0.53*
Working life
≥50 per cent of working life in employment	−0.11***	−0.06	−0.09	0.00	0.00	−0.03
Household wealth	−0.54***	−0.49***	−0.29**	−0.20***	−0.17**	−0.006
Current status
Restricted social interaction	0.73**	0.53	0.29	0.77***	0.41	0.47
Social support = 1 (ref. = 0, No support)	−0.59	−0.08	0.00	−0.67	0.16	0.70
Social support = 2 (ref. = 0, No support)	0.40	0.29	0.50	−0.56*	−0.20	0.16
Social support = 3 (ref. = 0, No support)	−0.44	−0.24	0.43	−0.71**	−0.23	0.28
Social support = 4 (ref. = 0, No support)	−1.28***	−0.94*	0.00	−1.13***	−0.74*	0.15
Current smoker	0.75***	0.47	−0.32	0.74**	0.63*	0.64
Any functional limitation	1.27***	1.00***	0.86**	1.68***	1.67***	1.90***
No current partner	1.06***	1.14***	0.32	0.67***	0.72***	0.44
Age	−0.071*	−0.07	−0.09*	0.042***	0.029*	0.004
Observations			650			618

Notes: Model 1 adjusts for age only; Model 2 adjusts for age, childhood SEP, childhood health, and childhood adversity; Model 3 adjusts for all variables listed. Complete cases only are included in this analysis. See ‘Measures’ subsection for details of variables. ‘Ref.’ refers to the reference category. Childhood SEP and Household wealth are coded low to high.

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.

Source: Authors’ calculations from ELSA, Waves 3–5.

Table 3 Standardized direct, indirect, and total effects of fertility and childhood variables on depressive symptoms (CES-D) in later life: men and women aged 55–64 and 65+

	Direct effect	Sum of indirect effects	Total effect
Men aged 55–64
Early parenthood	0	0.04 (0.015)*	0.04 (0.015)*
Short birth interval	0	0.06 (0.02)**	0.06 (0.02)**
High parity (4+)	0	0.12 (0.033)**	0.12 (0.033)**
Childhood SEP	0	−0.15 (0.033)***	−0.15 (0.033)***
Childhood adverse event(s)	0.24 (0.082)**	0.03 (0.015)*	0.27 (0.100)**
Poor childhood health	0	0	0
Men aged 65+
Early parenthood	0	0.03 (0.012)**	0.03 (0.012)**
Short birth interval	0	0.05 (0.016)**	0.05 (0.016)**
High parity (4+)	0	0.09 (0.028)**	0.09 (0.028)**
Childhood SEP	−0.14 (0.059)*	−0.09 (0.019)***	−0.23 (0.060)***
Childhood adverse event(s)	0	0.08 (0.025)**	0.08 (0.025)**
Poor childhood health	0	0	0
Women aged 55–64
Early parenthood	0	0.35 (0.056)***	0.35 (0.056)***
Short birth interval	0	0.15 (0.049)**	0.15 (0.049)**
High parity (4+)	0.26 (0.078)**	−0.36 (0.059)***	−0.09 (0.123)
Childhood SEP	0	−0.22 (0.036)***	−0.22 (0.036)***
Childhood adverse event(s)	0.15 (0.072)*	0.06 (0.023)**	0.22 (0.070)**
Poor childhood health	0	0.05 (0.023)*	0.05 (0.023)*
Women aged 65+
Early parenthood	0	0.07 (0.033)*	0.07 (0.033)*
Short birth interval	0	0.04 (0.019)*	0.04 (0.019)*
High parity (4+)	0	0.03 (0.034)	0.03 (0.034)
Childhood SEP	−0.15 (0.054)**	−0.02 (0.03)	−0.17 (0.07; 0.18)***
Childhood adverse event(s)	0.15 (0.064)*	0.09 (0.035)*	0.24 (0.065)***
Poor childhood health	0	0	0

Notes: Standard errors in parentheses. Direct effects are unmediated effects of variables on depressive symptoms; indirect effects are mediated effects, and total effects are the sum of direct and indirect effects. See ‘Measures’ subsection for details of variables. Childhood SEP is coded low to high.

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.

Source: As for Table 2.