Citation

Gallo JJ, Cooper-Patrick L, Lesikar S. J. Gerontol. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 1998; 53(5): 277-286.

Affiliation

Department of Mental Hygiene, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. jgallo@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Gerontological Society of America, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9750564

Abstract

Consistent with prior work, our hypothesis was that older African Americans are less likely to report dysphoria than are older Whites. Study subjects were 968 participants aged 60 years and older in Baltimore, Maryland, and 1,486 participants aged 60 years and older in the Durham-Piedmont region of North Carolina who identified themselves as African American or White and who had complete data on symptoms of depression active in the one month prior to interview, as well as several covariates thought to be related to depression. The effect of self-reported race on the endorsement of symptoms from the section on Major Depression in the Diagnostic Interview Schedule was estimated employing structural equations with a measurement model. Older African Americans were less likely to report dysphoria than older Whites, although this only achieved statistical significance by conventional standards at the Durham-Piedmont site. Older African Americans at both sites were significantly more likely to report thoughts of death.

Language: en