Urban and Rural Differences in Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Later Life in the United States

Sun, Na
Hua, Cassandra L.
Qiu, Xiao
Brown, J. Scott

¹Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
²Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

Na Sun, Department of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University, 396 Upham Hall 100 Bishop Circle, Oxford, OH 45056, USA. Email: [email protected]

Received May 27, 2020

Received in revised form October 16, 2020

Accepted October 19, 2020

Journal of Applied Gerontology 41(1):p 148-157, January 2022. | DOI: 10.1177/0733464820972527

Objective:

This research has two primary goals: to examine the relationship between urban residence and trajectories of depressive symptoms and to investigate whether this relationship differs by social isolation and loneliness.

Method:

Data are from 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 51+ (n = 3,346 females and 2,441 males). We conduct latent growth curve analysis to predict both baseline and trajectories of depression based on urban or rural residency.

Results:

Residing in urban or rural areas is neither significantly associated with baseline nor the development of late-life depressive symptoms. For females, the relationship between urban residence and baseline depressive symptoms is explained by socioeconomic factors.

Discussion:

Findings of this study serve to better understand how social and geographic contexts shape long-term well-being of older adults.