FAMILY AND CULTURAL CORRELATES OF DEPRESSION AMONG CHINESE ELDERLY

This study hypothesized that depressive experiences of the elderly cou ld be aggravated by universal factors such as low social status, poor health, financial strain, and unhealthy lifestyle, as well as by facto rs specific to an indigenous socio-cultural environment (stressful fam ily dynamics) of a given population. Three hundred and fifty Chinese s ubjects aged 65 or older were interviewed either at their homes or in the geriatric out-patient clinic of Beijing Hospital. Hierarchical log istic regression was used to examine significant predictors of depress ion. Results showed that certain social status, poor physical health, financial strain, unhealthy lifestyle, and stressful family situation explained 47 percent of the variance in depression. However, stressful family situation alone explained 13 percent of the variance in depres sion, indicating that family factors were important predictors of depr ession for Chinese elderly. Furthermore, this study demonstrated for t he first time that verbal abuse within Chinese families is a significa nt correlate of depression among the elderly. Cultural implications of these findings are discussed.