Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa
This paper advances the understanding of how marital transitions may influence mental health by investigating these associations among a population of rural, Black South Africans aged 40+ that was directly impacted by apartheid. Using two waves of data from 4,176 men and women in Health and Aging in...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | SSM - Mental Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560322000238 |
| _version_ | 1828085497546670080 |
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| author | Elyse A. Jennings Chido Chinogurei Leslie Adams |
| author_facet | Elyse A. Jennings Chido Chinogurei Leslie Adams |
| author_sort | Elyse A. Jennings |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper advances the understanding of how marital transitions may influence mental health by investigating these associations among a population of rural, Black South Africans aged 40+ that was directly impacted by apartheid. Using two waves of data from 4,176 men and women in Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we investigated associations between marital experiences and depressive symptoms, by gender, and explored whether economic resources is a moderator of these associations. We found that experiencing a marital dissolution was associated with more depressive symptoms than remaining married for both men and women. We also found that men, but not women, report greater depressive symptoms if they remained separated/divorced, remained widowed, or remained never married between waves. We found no evidence that a decline in wealth moderated the impact of marital dissolution on depressive symptoms for women or men. These findings suggest that the documented benefits of marriage for mental health, and differences by gender in those benefits, may extend to older, rural South Africans, despite the unique experiences of this population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:41:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-35eeaf496d7f4c56bce08d551aa7f2a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5603 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:41:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM - Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-35eeaf496d7f4c56bce08d551aa7f2a22022-12-28T04:19:44ZengElsevierSSM - Mental Health2666-56032022-12-012100083Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South AfricaElyse A. Jennings0Chido Chinogurei1Leslie Adams2Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA; Corresponding author.School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USAThis paper advances the understanding of how marital transitions may influence mental health by investigating these associations among a population of rural, Black South Africans aged 40+ that was directly impacted by apartheid. Using two waves of data from 4,176 men and women in Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we investigated associations between marital experiences and depressive symptoms, by gender, and explored whether economic resources is a moderator of these associations. We found that experiencing a marital dissolution was associated with more depressive symptoms than remaining married for both men and women. We also found that men, but not women, report greater depressive symptoms if they remained separated/divorced, remained widowed, or remained never married between waves. We found no evidence that a decline in wealth moderated the impact of marital dissolution on depressive symptoms for women or men. These findings suggest that the documented benefits of marriage for mental health, and differences by gender in those benefits, may extend to older, rural South Africans, despite the unique experiences of this population.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560322000238MarriageMarital transitionsDepressionMental healthSouth AfricaApartheid |
| spellingShingle | Elyse A. Jennings Chido Chinogurei Leslie Adams Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa SSM - Mental Health Marriage Marital transitions Depression Mental health South Africa Apartheid |
| title | Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa |
| title_full | Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa |
| title_short | Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa |
| title_sort | marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural south africa |
| topic | Marriage Marital transitions Depression Mental health South Africa Apartheid |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560322000238 |
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