Some studies have examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and depression among African American women. However, one of the limitations in the literature is that SES has been examined in many different ways, and it is not known whether researchers are measuring the same construct. Previous studies also failed to examine the relationship of SES and age and their association with depression. This study examined the relationship between an array of SES variables and depression among African American women; determined which SES variable was most strongly associated with depression; and examined whether the relationship between SES and depression is similar across age. A total of 1821 African American women recruited through the National Black Women's Health Project completed a mailed survey on psychological well-being. Independent variables included household income, education, median income within zip codes, and age. The dependent variable was depression as measured by the CES-D. The correlation coefficients among the SES variables were low indicating that these variables do not measure the same construct: .34 for education/income, .22 for median income by zip code/household income, and .11 for median income by zip code/education. Household income was the only SES variable significantly associated with depression (p<.0001). The lower the household income the higher the scores on the CES-D. There was also a main effect of age (p<.0001) with CES-D scores decreasing with age. There were no significant interactions between SES variables and age suggesting that the relationship between SES (i.e., household income) and depression is similar across age.
Learning Objectives: (1) Understand the importance of identifying which SES variable is most important in relation to a particular health outcome (i.e., depression) among African American women; (2) Understand whether the relationship betweeen SES and depression is similar across age among African American women.
Keywords: Depression, Women
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.