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Women's status and depressive symptoms: a multilevel analysis
Ying-Yeh Chen1, S V Subramanian, Doloros Acevedo-Garcia
1Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center 401 Park Drive, Room 445-A Boston, MA 02115, USA. ychen@hsph.harvard.edu
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|October 16, 2004
Summary
Women
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Women's Health
Background:
- Individual women's depressive symptoms are a significant public health concern.
- Societal factors, including gender inequality, may influence mental health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between state-level women's status and individual women's depressive symptoms.
- To investigate how political participation, economic autonomy, employment & earnings, and reproductive rights impact women's mental health.
Main Methods:
- Multi-level analysis of the National Maternal Infant Health Survey (NMIHS) longitudinal data (1988-1991).
- Inclusion of 7789 women nested within 50 US states.
- Assessment of state-level women's status using composite indices and depressive symptoms via the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).
Main Results:
- Women in states with higher employment & earnings, economic autonomy, and reproductive rights reported significantly lower depressive symptoms.
- Higher gender inequality at the state level was associated with increased depressive symptoms in women.
- Demographic factors like age, race, marital status, education, and income also correlated with depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
- State-level gender inequality, particularly in economic and reproductive spheres, contributes to higher rates of depressive symptoms among women.
- Policies and initiatives aimed at improving women's status and autonomy at the state level may have positive impacts on women's mental health.