IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v60y2014i8p772-782.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Defining subgroups of low socioeconomic status women at risk for depressive symptoms: The importance of perceived stress and cumulative risks

Author

Listed:
  • Judith EB van der Waerden
  • Cees Hoefnagels
  • Clemens MH Hosman
  • Maria WJ Jansen

Abstract

Background: Most disadvantaged women are exposed to risk factors for depression, but not all necessarily have an identical risk for this mental health problem. A better prediction of which low socioeconomic status (SES) women are most at risk for depressive symptoms can help target preventive interventions at high-risk subgroups most in need of support. Aims: Exploring which demographic, socioeconomic and psychological risk factors are associated with self-reported depressive symptoms in a sample of low-SES women and whether the number of risk factors might expose them to an accumulated risk. Methods: Between April 2005 and November 2007, 519 disadvantaged women from urban neighbourhoods in Maastricht, a southern Dutch city, participated in a cross-sectional survey on stress and depressive symptoms. Results: Lower education levels, no current employment and lower net monthly family incomes were socioeconomic risk factors associated with higher scores for depressive symptoms. The psychological risk factor ‘perceived stress’ had the highest explained variance and was most strongly associated with depressive symptoms. Women exposed to multiple risk factors across domains had a cumulated risk for depressive symptomatology. Conclusion: Low-SES women who seem most eligible for targeted preventive action are those with cumulative risks. Depression prevention strategies for this population may benefit from focusing on perceived stress since this is an important modifiable risk factor.

Suggested Citation

  • Judith EB van der Waerden & Cees Hoefnagels & Clemens MH Hosman & Maria WJ Jansen, 2014. "Defining subgroups of low socioeconomic status women at risk for depressive symptoms: The importance of perceived stress and cumulative risks," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 60(8), pages 772-782, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:60:y:2014:i:8:p:772-782
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764014522751
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764014522751
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020764014522751?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jackson, J.S. & Knight, K.M. & Rafferty, J.A., 2010. "Race and unhealthy behaviors: Chronic stress, the HPA Axis, and physical and mental health disparities over the life course," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(5), pages 933-939.
    2. Walters, Vivienne & McDonough, Peggy & Strohschein, Lisa, 2002. "The influence of work, household structure, and social, personal and material resources on gender differences in health: an analysis of the 1994 Canadian National Population Health Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(5), pages 677-692, March.
    3. Denton, Margaret & Prus, Steven & Walters, Vivienne, 2004. "Gender differences in health: a Canadian study of the psychosocial, structural and behavioural determinants of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(12), pages 2585-2600, June.
    4. Schulz, Amy J. & Israel, Barbara A. & Zenk, Shannon N. & Parker, Edith A. & Lichtenstein, Richard & Shellman-Weir, Sheryl & A.B., Laura Klem, 2006. "Psychosocial stress and social support as mediators of relationships between income, length of residence and depressive symptoms among African American women on Detroit's eastside," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 510-522, January.
    5. Ross, Catherine E. & Mirowsky, John, 2006. "Sex differences in the effect of education on depression: Resource multiplication or resource substitution?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 1400-1413, September.
    6. Almeida-Filho, Naomar & Lessa, Ines & Magalhães, Lucélia & Araújo, Maria Jenny & Aquino, Estela & James, Sherman A. & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2004. "Social inequality and depressive disorders in Bahia, Brazil: interactions of gender, ethnicity, and social class," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(7), pages 1339-1353, October.
    7. Matheson, Flora I. & Moineddin, Rahim & Dunn, James R. & Creatore, Maria Isabella & Gozdyra, Piotr & Glazier, Richard H., 2006. "Urban neighborhoods, chronic stress, gender and depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2604-2616, November.
    8. Santiago, Catherine DeCarlo & Wadsworth, Martha E. & Stump, Jessica, 2011. "Socioeconomic status, neighborhood disadvantage, and poverty-related stress: Prospective effects on psychological syndromes among diverse low-income families," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 218-230, March.
    9. Van de Velde, Sarah & Bracke, Piet & Levecque, Katia, 2010. "Gender differences in depression in 23 European countries. Cross-national variation in the gender gap in depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 305-313, July.
    10. Emma Bassett & Spencer Moore, 2013. "Gender Differences in the Social Pathways Linking Neighborhood Disadvantage to Depressive Symptoms in Adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(10), pages 1-8, October.
    11. Mackenbach, Johan P., 2012. "The persistence of health inequalities in modern welfare states: The explanation of a paradox," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(4), pages 761-769.
    12. Stefanie Sperlich & Sonja Arnhold-Kerri & Siegfried Geyer, 2011. "What accounts for depressive symptoms among mothers? The impact of socioeconomic status, family structure and psychosocial stress," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 56(4), pages 385-396, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kendzor, Darla E. & Reitzel, Lorraine R. & Mazas, Carlos A. & Cofta-Woerpel, Ludmila M. & Cao, Yumei & Ji, Lingyun & Costello, Tracy J. & Vidrine, Jennifer Irvin & Businelle, Michael S. & Li, Yisheng , 2012. "Individual- and area-level unemployment influence smoking cessation among African Americans participating in a randomized clinical trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(9), pages 1394-1401.
    2. Chen, Duan-Rung & Chang, Ly-Yun & Yang, Meng-Li, 2008. "Gender-specific responses to social determinants associated with self-perceived health in Taiwan: A multilevel approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(10), pages 1630-1640, November.
    3. Eleonora Trappolini & Cristina Giudici, 2021. "Gendering health differences between nonmigrants and migrants by duration of stay in Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(7), pages 221-258.
    4. Santosh Jatrana, 2021. "Gender differences in self-reported health and psychological distress among New Zealand adults," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(21), pages 693-726.
    5. Bahadır Dursun & Resul Cesur, 2016. "Transforming lives: the impact of compulsory schooling on hope and happiness," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 911-956, July.
    6. Pieter Dudal & Piet Bracke, 2016. "Absolute and relative educational inequalities in depression in Europe," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(7), pages 787-795, September.
    7. Read, Jen'nan Ghazal & Gorman, Bridget K., 2006. "Gender inequalities in US adult health: The interplay of race and ethnicity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(5), pages 1045-1065, March.
    8. Stefanie Sperlich & Siegfried Geyer, 2015. "The impact of social and family-related factors on women’s stress experience in household and family work," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(3), pages 375-387, March.
    9. Stefanie Sperlich & Frauke-Marie Adler & Johannes Beller & Batoul Safieddine & Juliane Tetzlaff & Fabian Tetzlaff & Siegfried Geyer, 2022. "Getting Better or Getting Worse? A Population-Based Study on Trends in Self-Rated Health among Single Mothers in Germany between 1994 and 2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-13, February.
    10. Bohye Lee & Myungsuk Choi & Mankyu Choi, 2021. "Evaluation of Individual and Community Factors Affecting Adolescents’ Mental Health: A Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 1187-1203, June.
    11. Gyeong-Suk Jeon & Sung-Il Cho & Kyungwon Choi & Kwang-Sim Jang, 2019. "Gender Differences in the Prevalence and Correlates of Elder Abuse in a Community-Dwelling Older Population in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, January.
    12. Colombo, Emilio & Rotondi, Valentina & Stanca, Luca, 2018. "Macroeconomic conditions and health: Inspecting the transmission mechanism," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 29-37.
    13. Fritzell, Sara & Ringbäck Weitoft, Gunilla & Fritzell, Johan & Burström, Bo, 2007. "From macro to micro: The health of Swedish lone mothers during changing economic and social circumstances," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 2474-2488, December.
    14. Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore & Ivaldi, Enrico & Landi, Stefano & Maggino, Filomena, 2022. "Measuring and evaluating socio-economic inequality in small areas: An application to the urban units of the Municipality of Genoa," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    15. Chen, Duan-Rung & Wen, Tzai-Hung, 2010. "Socio-spatial patterns of neighborhood effects on adult obesity in Taiwan: A multi-level model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 823-833, March.
    16. Lee, Chioun & Ryff, Carol D., 2016. "Early parenthood as a link between childhood disadvantage and adult heart problems: A gender-based approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 58-66.
    17. Teresa Leão & Inês Campos-Matos & Clare Bambra & Giuliano Russo & Julian Perelman, 2018. "Welfare states, the Great Recession and health: Trends in educational inequalities in self-reported health in 26 European countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, February.
    18. Spears Dean, 2011. "Economic Decision-Making in Poverty Depletes Behavioral Control," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-44, December.
    19. Fabio Ferretti & Andrea Pozza & Maurilio Pallassini & Lorenzo Righi & Fulvia Marini & Sabrina Adami & Anna Coluccia, 2019. "Gender invariance of dignity in non-terminal elderly patients with chronic diseases: a multicentric study," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1645-1656, May.
    20. Vonneilich, Nico & Lüdecke, Daniel & von dem Knesebeck, Olaf, 2020. "Educational inequalities in self-rated health and social relationships – analyses based on the European Social Survey 2002-2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:60:y:2014:i:8:p:772-782. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.