Age differences in depressive symptom experiences

Age differences in depressive symptom experiences were investigated in a community sample of 368 women between the ages of 51 and 92 who were administered the SCL-90 Depression and Additional Symptoms Scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess and compare depressive symptom experiences in a younger (age 51-65) and older (age 66-92) age cohort. Findings show that two somewhat different depressive syndromes underlie symptom reporting patterns, one having higher levels in the older age cohort, the other having higher levels in the younger age cohort. In addition, three more delimited forms of distress -- feelings of enervation, dysphoria, and sleep disturbances -- show higher levels among the older cohort. Implications of these findings for future research on the relation between aging and depression are discussed.