Jj. Gallo et al., DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS OF WHITES AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS AGED 60 YEARS ANDOLDER, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 53(5), 1998, pp. 277-286
Consistent with prior work, our hypothesis was that older African Amer
icans 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 Africa
n American or White and, who had complete data on symptoms of depressi
on active in the one month prior to interview, as well as several cova
riates thought to be related to depression. The effect of self-reporte
d race on the endorsement of symptoms from the section on Major Depres
sion in the Diagnostic Interview Schedule was estimated employing stru
ctural 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 Du
rham-Piedmont site. Older African Americans at both sites were signifi
cantly more likely to report thoughts of death.