Impact of family characteristics by marital status of cohabitating adult children on depression among Korean older adults

Abstract

AIM: To identify the association between different living arrangements of intergenerational household composition and depression in older adults.

METHODS: Data from the Korea Longitudinal Study of Aging, the first to fourth waves, were used. Using the first wave as baseline, our analysis included 5046 participants aged ≥60 years with at least one living child. Depression was measured using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. Factors investigated included living arrangements according to household composition and the marital status of a cohabiting adult child. A generalized estimating equation with the logit link for binary outcomes was used to examine the association between living arrangements and depression.

RESULTS: Compared with the older adults living with a married child and grandchildren, those living alone, those living with an unmarried child, and those living with an unmarried child and grandchildren were more likely to have depression (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.13-1.75; OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.18-1.66; OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.27-2.01). In particular, women were more likely to have depression than men in the association between living arrangements and depression.

CONCLUSIONS: Efforts should be made to provide social services for older adults living alone and those living with an unmarried child in a two-/three-generation family, in particular, for those who are female.