Urban and Rural Differences in Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Later Life in the United States

This research has two primary goals: to examine the relationship between urban residence and trajectories of depressive symptoms and to investigate whether this relationship differs by social isolation and loneliness.

Data are from 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 51+ (n = 3,346 females and 2,441 males). We conduct latent growth curve analysis to predict both baseline and trajectories of depression based on urban or rural residency.

Residing in urban or rural areas is neither significantly associated with baseline nor the development of late-life depressive symptoms. For females, the relationship between urban residence and baseline depressive symptoms is explained by socioeconomic factors.

Findings of this study serve to better understand how social and geographic contexts shape long-term well-being of older adults.