Acculturation and depressive symptoms among Mexican American elders new to the caregiving role: results from the Hispanic-EPESE.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics associated with becoming a caregiver among Mexican American (MA) elders and to examine predictors of depressive symptoms among the new caregivers 2 years later.

METHOD

Drawn from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE), 152 MA recent caregivers and 2,023 other MAs were compared. Residualized change regression analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

At baseline, MAs who had recently become caregivers exhibited a significantly greater number of depressive symptoms compared to those who had not. Controlling for background characteristics, physical health, social support, and baseline depressive symptoms, regression analysis revealed that 2 years later higher acculturation was related to a greater number of depressive symptoms among those who at baseline were new caregivers.

DISCUSSION

Better knowledge of the within-group differences among MA elderly caregivers, especially with respect to acculturation, may better inform interventions for this at-risk group.