Mirowsky J, Ross C E
Department of Sociology, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801.
J Health Soc Behav. 1992 Sep;33(3):187-205; discussion 206-12.
In this study, the relationship between age and depression is analyzed, looking for effects of maturity, decline, life-cycle stage, survival, and historical trend. The data are from a 1990 sample of 2,031 U.S. adults and a 1985 sample of 809 Illinois adults. The results show that depression reaches its lowest level in the middle aged, at about age 45. The fall of depression in early adulthood and rise in late life mostly reflects life-cycle gains and losses in marriage, employment, and economic well-being. Depression reaches its highest level in adults 80 years old or older, because physical dysfunction and low personal control add to personal and status losses. Malaise from poor health does not create a spurious rise of measured depression in late adulthood. However, some of the differences among age groups in depression reflect higher education in younger generations, and some reflect different rates of survival across demographic groups that also vary in their levels of depression.
在本研究中，分析了年龄与抑郁之间的关系，探寻成熟度、衰退、生命周期阶段、生存情况及历史趋势的影响。数据来自1990年对2031名美国成年人的抽样以及1985年对809名伊利诺伊州成年人的抽样。结果显示，抑郁在中年时期，约45岁时达到最低水平。成年早期抑郁水平的下降以及晚年抑郁水平的上升主要反映了婚姻、就业和经济状况方面生命周期中的得失。80岁及以上成年人的抑郁水平最高，因为身体机能障碍和个人控制力低下加剧了个人及地位的损失。健康状况不佳导致的不适并不会造成成年后期测量出的抑郁水平虚假上升。然而，各年龄组在抑郁方面的一些差异反映出年轻一代受教育程度较高，还有一些差异反映出不同人口群体的不同生存率，而这些群体的抑郁水平也各不相同。
