Paper
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in Older Rural Couples: Actor-Partner Interaction Model
Mary Kay Rayens, PhD, Deborah Reed, PhD, MSPH, RN, and Mei Zhang, MSN, MPH, RN. College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| Learning Objective #1: understand the use of the Actor-Partner Interaction Model with data from couples. |
| Learning Objective #2: describe the impact of satisfaction with work, perceived stress and number of health conditions on depressive symptoms. |
Background: Among older farmers, depressive symptoms may be influenced by work patterns, satisfaction with work, stress, and health status. Couples may affect each other’s depressive symptoms.
Purpose: Determine whether depressive symptoms score is predicted by hours worked on the farm, satisfaction with work, number of health conditions, and perceived stress.
Sample: 494 farm couples that participated in the baseline interview for a longitudinal study of older farmers. Most participants were either white (81%) or African American (18%). The mean age was 64.1 (SD = 7.9) with a range of 50 to 89.
Method: Data from the husbands and wives were used together in a dyad-based regression model; the Actor-Partner Interaction model (APIM), and accounts for not only the respondent’s values for each predictor variable in assessing the impact on the outcome variable (CES-D), but also the responses given to the same questionnaires by the respondent’s spouse. Values for the predictors that are attributed to the respondent are the ‘actor’ effects; spouse responses are the ‘partner’ effects.
Results: The significant actor effects in the APIM model included satisfaction with farm work, perceived stress and number of health conditions. Hours worked on the farm and perceived stress exhibited significant partner effects. Respondents who were more satisfied with farm work, had lower stress, and fewer health conditions had lower depressive symptoms scores. In addition, respondents whose partners reported they worked fewer hours on the farm and lower stress levels had lower CES-D scores than those whose partners were working more hours and were under more stress.
Discussion: Rural dwellers may be at greater risk for high depressive symptoms than their urban counterparts. This study of older farm couples underscores the importance of stress management in both members of a couple, since the perceived duress of one member of the dyad affects both.