Estimating anticipatory, immediate, and delayed effects of disability registration on depressive symptoms

This study examines (a) whether disability registration has anticipatory, immediate, and delayed effects on depressive symptoms and (b) how these effects differ by gender.

Using data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study spanning over 16 waves between 2005 and 2020, this study employed the individual-level fixed effects models to estimate the trajectories of depressive symptoms before and after the registration of physical disability, for a cohort of 20,054 individuals. Furthermore, gender-stratified fixed effects models were used to examine gender differences.

Compared to the preregistration reference period (i.e., 4 or more years before disability registration), there was a sustained rise in depressive symptoms leading up to the year of registration, indicating the presence of anticipatory effects. After disability registration, depressive symptoms consistently remained at a statistically higher level than during the initial reference period, with a gradual return to the baseline level of depressive symptoms over time. These anticipatory, immediate, and delayed effects of disability registration were notably more pronounced among men than women.

To develop more effective mental health interventions for people with disability, policymakers should consider gendered trajectories of depressive symptoms before and after disability registration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).