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Later-life mental health in Europe: a country-level comparison

Ploubidis, George and Grundy, Emily ORCID: 0000-0002-9633-1116 (2009) Later-life mental health in Europe: a country-level comparison. Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 64B (5). pp. 666-676. ISSN 1079-5014

Full text not available from this repository.
Identification Number: 10.1093/geronb/gbp026

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the influence of country of residence on depression and well-being among older Europeans, after establishing the between-country measurement invariance of both constructs. Methods: We used data from a cross-sectional nationally representative population-based sample of older Europeans, the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analysis sample comprised 13,498 older Europeans from nine countries. The EURO-D was used to measure depression, and a well-being outcome was derived from self-report items available in SHARE. The between-country measurement invariance of both mental health outcomes was established using modern psychometric modeling techniques. Results: After adjustment for demographic characteristics and the presence of chronic illness, Spain was the country scoring highest on depression and Denmark highest on well-being. Optimal mental health was associated with higher educational attainment and being married. Discussion: There is considerable between-country heterogeneity in later-life mental health in Europe. The Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, and Austria, do best (low depression/high well-being), followed by Germany and France, whereas residents of Spain, Italy, and Greece report the worst mental health.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/
Additional Information: © 2009 The Authors, The Gerontological Society of America
Divisions: Social Policy
Lifecourse, Ageing & Population Health
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Date Deposited: 28 Oct 2013 14:29
Last Modified: 17 Sep 2024 20:15
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/53824

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