Older adults display concurrent but not delayed associations between life stressors and depressive symptoms: a microlongitudinal study

Objectives: The present study investigated the temporal association between life event stressors relevant to older adults and depressive symptoms using a micro-longitudinal design (i.e., monthly increments over a six-month period). Existing research on stress and depressive symptoms has not examined this association over shorter time periods (e.g., monthly), over multiple time increments, or within-persons.

Design: An in-person initial interview was followed by six monthly interviews conducted by telephone.

Setting: Community.

Participants: Data were drawn from a study of 144 community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptoms.

Measurements: Stressful life events were measured using the Geriatric Life Events Scale (GALES), and depressive symptoms were assessed with the Short - Geriatric Depression Scale (S-GDS).

Results: Using multilevel modeling, 31% of the S-GDS' and 39% of the GALES' overall variance was due to within-person variability. Females and persons with worse health reported more depressive symptoms. Stressful life events predicted concurrent depressive symptoms, but not depressive symptoms one month later.

Conclusions: The lack of a time-lagged relationship suggests that older adults with depressive symptoms may recover more quickly from life stressors than previously thought, although additional research using varying time frames is needed to pinpoint the timing of this recovery as well as to identify older adults at risk of long-term effects of life stressors.