Depressive symptoms: associations with health perceptions and health behaviors

The association of depressive symptoms with health behaviors and perceptions was determined for 876 patients seeing family physicians. Correlational analyses revealed stress, pain, and overall health status were moderately related to depression for males and females. Smoking was positively related to depressive symptoms in women (r = .19, P < 0.01), and drinking was inversely related to depressive symptoms in men (r = -.16, P < .01). Multiple regression analyses indicated stress, poor health, smoking, and drinking were significant predictors of depressive symptoms in women; stress, poor health, and drinking were significant in men. Health perceptions appear to be better predictors of depressive symptoms than reported health behaviors.