Intersectional Social Identity, Perceived Discrimination, and Mental Health Among Older Adults in India

Although adverse mental health outcomes linked to discrimination among older adults have been well acknowledged, our understanding of the discrimination-mental health link in non-Western paradigms is still limited. Using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) with an intersectional approach, we examined how perceived discrimination was linked to the level of depressive symptoms among older adults in India and how this association was moderated by caste and gender. Our ordered logistic regression models indicated that higher levels of perceived discrimination are associated with an increased likelihood of reporting the most severe depressive symptoms among Scheduled Tribe (ST) women, as well as men and women from Other Backward Castes (OBC). In cases of less severe depression levels, the probabilities decline with increasing discrimination. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how intersecting caste and gender-based disadvantages shape mental health trajectories in later life within the Indian context.