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The interaction of family background and personal education on depressive symptoms in later life

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  • Schaan, Barbara

Abstract

This study assesses the interaction between personal education and family background during childhood on depressive symptoms in later life by applying Ross & Mirowsky's resource substitution and structural amplification theory of health and education. OLS regression models are estimated using data from the “Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe” (SHARE), which covers information on current social and health status as well as retrospective life histories from 20,716 respondents aged 50 or older from thirteen European countries. Higher education helps to overcome the negative consequences of a poor family background. Since people from poor families are less likely to attain higher educational levels, they lack exactly the resource they need in order to overcome the negative consequences their non-prosperous background has on depressive symptoms. Thus, low family background and low personal education amplify each other. Examining the processes described by theory of resource substitution and structural amplification over different age groups from midlife to old-age suggests that the moderating effect of education remains constant over age among people coming from a poor family background. However, there is some evidence for a decrease with age in the buffering effect of a well-off family background on depressive symptoms among the low educated group. Furthermore, the educational gap in depression diverges with age among individuals originating from a well-off family background. Taken together the results cautiously allude to the conclusion that three processes – cumulative (dis-)advantage, age-as-leveler, and persistent inequalities – might take place.

Suggested Citation

  • Schaan, Barbara, 2014. "The interaction of family background and personal education on depressive symptoms in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 94-102.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:102:y:2014:i:c:p:94-102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.049
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    2. Emily Grundy & Thijs van den Broek & Katherine Keenan, 2019. "Number of Children, Partnership Status, and Later-life Depression in Eastern and Western Europe," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 74(2), pages 353-363.
    3. Karyn Morrissey & Tim Taylor & Gengyang Tu, 2023. "Estimating the Impact of Relative Financial Circumstances in Childhood on Adult Mental Wellbeing: a Mediation Analysis," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 915-930, April.
    4. Carla Comacchio & Giulia Antolini & Mirella Ruggeri & Marco Colizzi, 2022. "Gender-Oriented Mental Health Prevention: A Reappraisal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Pei, Yaolin & Cong, Zhen & Wu, Bei, 2020. "Education, adult children's education, and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    6. Matthew A. Andersson & Vida Maralani & Renae Wilkinson, 2022. "Origins and Destinations, but How Much and When? Educational Disparities in Smoking and Drinking Across Adolescence and Young Adulthood," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 521-558, April.

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