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Poverty, deprivation, and depressive symptoms among older adults in Hong Kong
Kelvin Chi Kin Cheung1, Kee-Lee Chou1
1a Department of Asian and Policy Studies , The Education University of Hong Kong , Tai Po , Hong Kong , China.
Objectives:
Examine the association of income poverty and material deprivation with depression in old age.
Methods:
Our data contains a survey of 1,959 older Chinese adults in Hong Kong. We used the Geriatric Depression Scale - Short Form to assess their depressive symptoms. Income poverty was defined as having household income below half the median household income (adjusted by household size); material deprivation was measured by a validated 28-item material deprivation. In addition to income poverty and material deprivation, we also assessed the effect of socio-demographic variables, financial strain, health indicators, and social and community resources on depressive symptoms.
Results:
Those who experienced material deprivation reported a significantly more severe depressive symptoms, even after income poverty and all other covariates were controlled for; the bivariate association between income poverty and depressive symptoms disappeared once material deprivation was controlled for. Further, we found a significant interaction effect between income poverty and material deprivation on depressive symptoms; and both engagement in cultural activities and neighborhood collective efficacy moderated the impact of being materially deprived on depressive symptoms.
Conclusion:
Our results have important policy implications for the measurement of poverty and for the development of anti-poverty measures for materially deprived older adults.
