Stressors associated with older adults’ depressive symptom during the pandemic: Does a caregiving role make a difference?

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics

Variable	Caregivers (n = 248)		Non-Caregivers (n = 1,437)		X^2	p-value
	%	n	%	n
Age					25.821***	.000
65– 69	2.4	6	1.5	21
70– 74	32.7	81	25.3	363
75– 79	35.5	88	28.7	413
80– 84	15.7	39	23.3	335
85– 89	12.1	30	13.7	197
90 +	1.6	4	7.5	108
Gender					3.923*	.048
Male	40.3	100	47.1	677
Female	59.7	148	52.9	760
Race/Ethnicity					10.406*	.034
White	75.4	187	83.2	1,196
Black	16.5	41	11.1	159
Hispanic or Latino	3.2	8	3.1	44
Asian or Pacific Islanders or Hawaiian Natives	2.8	7	1.5	21
Other race	2.0	5	1.2	17

Differences between the caregiver and non-caregiver group were identified by Chi-squared test

***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics in major variables

	All (n = 1,685)		Caregivers (n = 248)		Non-Caregivers (n = 1,437)			t
Variable	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	Cohen’s d
Number of missed events	3.28	2.5	3.75	2.59	3.20	2.51	.2	.66**
Time spent staying home	4.25	2.94	3.94	2.61	4.31	3.00	−.1	7.14*
A lack of social contact	8.52	3.08	7.85	2.96	8.63	3.09	−.3	.24***
A lack of social activities	3.25	.92	3.19	.87	3.27	.93	−.1	1.29
Healthcare delay	.40	.49	.44	.50	.39	.49	.1	6.03
A lack of time for self-care	.50	.74	.77	.96	.46	.69	.4	51.88***
Depressive symptom	.96	.79	.97	.74	.96	.79	.0	1.96

Differences between the caregiver and non-caregiver group were identified by an independent sample t-test. ***p<.001. **p< .01. *p< .05.

Table 3. Intercorrelations between major variables

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1. Number of missed events	–	−.027	−.205***	−.180***	.139***	.073**	.132***
2. Time spent staying home	−.119	–	.276***	.266***	.054*	−.031	.112***
3. A lack of social contact	−.189**	.295***	–	.218***	−.067*	−.024	−.042
4. A lack of social activities	−.160*	.229***	.082	–	−.013	−.033	.027
5. Healthcare delay	.131*	.066	−.107	−.048	–	.073**	.192***
6. A lack of time for self-care	.002	.176**	.101	−.034	.069	–	.243***
7. Depressive symptom	.034	.020	−.034	.047	.280***	.292***	–

Pearson correlation coefficients are shown for caregivers (n = 248) below the diagonal and for non-caregivers (n = 1,437) above the diagonal.

***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.

Table 4. Multiple linear regression coefficients among caregivers (n = 248)

Variable	Model 1				Model 2
	B	β	SE	p-value	B	β	SE	p-value
Constant	.85		.15	.000	.44		.27	.099
Age	.01	.01	.04	.885	.01	.01	.04	.853
Female ^a	.28	.18**	.09	.003	.16	.10	.09	.097
Black ^b	−.44	−.22***	.12	.000	−.39	−.20**	.12	.002
Hispanic or Latino ^b	.17	.04	.26	.507	.28	.07	.25	.253
Asian or Pacific Islanders or Hawaiian Natives ^b	.11	.03	.28	.692	−.07	−.02	.27	.799
Other race ^b	−.18	−.04	.33	.577	−.16	−.03	.31	.596
Number of missed events					.00	.01	.02	.865
Time spent staying home					−.01	−.04	.02	.583
A lack of social contact					−.01	−.03	.02	.636
A lack of social activities					.08	.09	.05	.141
Healthcare delay					.35	.23***	.09	.000
A lack of time for self-care					.21	.28***	.05	.000
R^2	.09				.22
Adjusted R^2	.06				.18

^aReference group = Male.

^bReference group = White.

B = Unstandardized Beta, β = Standardized Coefficients Beta

***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.

Table 5. Multiple linear regression coefficients among non-caregivers (n = 1,437)

	Model 1				Model 2
Variable	B	β	SE	p-value	B	β	SE	p-value
Constant	.76		.06	.000	.40		.11	.000
Age	.01	.02	.02	.466	.01	.02	.02	.392
Female ^a	.30	.19***	.04	.000	.20	.13***	.04	.000
Black ^b	−.04	−.02	.07	.515	−.04	−.02	.07	.557
Hispanic or Latino ^b	.17	.04	.12	.159	.07	.01	.12	.568
Asian or Pacific Islanders or Hawaiian Natives ^b	.13	.02	.17	.436	−.02	−.01	.17	.883
Other race ^b	−.18	−.03	.19	.340	−.15	−.02	.18	.406
Number of missed events					.03	.09***	.01	.000
Time spent staying home					.02	.08*	.01	.010
A lack of social contact					−.01	−.03	.01	.238
A lack of social activities					.03	.03	.02	.216
Healthcare delay					.23	.14***	.04	.000
A lack of time for self-care					.26	.22***	.03	.000
R^2	.04				.13
Adjusted R^2	.03				.12

^aReference group = Male

^bReference group = White.

B = Unstandardized Beta, β = Standardized Coefficients Beta

***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.