| The prevalence of depressive symptoms in older adults has been estimated at 5 to 27%. Although there has been substantial research on the diagnosis, treatment and potential causes of depression in old age, few studies have examined how older adults themselves view the experience of depression within their "everyday lives." In addition, current narrative approaches to understanding depression are limited by narrow use of narrative forms (e.g., interviews) and interpretive frameworks. The overall goal study goal was to examine depression in older age as it conceptualized, experienced and articulated. Methods. Two groups of community dwelling adults age 69 and over were recruited. Group 1 comprised 21 adults (4 European American (EA) men, 8 EA women, 5 African American (AA) men and 4 AA women) adults who had a clinical diagnosis of depression or who scored >&barbelow;16 on the CES-D. Group 2 comprised 21 adults (9 EA men, 4 EA women, 3 AA men and 5 AA women) who were not diagnosed with depression and whose CES-D score was <16. Participants completed a demographic form, the CES-D, and an open-ended interview at Time 1 and a follow-up interview at Time 2, approximately two weeks after Time 1. In addition, 22 participants (10 depressed, 12 non-depressed) completed an additional letter writing task following the Time 1 interview.;Results. Thematic analysis revealed that most participants felt ageism contributed to depression. Many participants in the depressed group attributed their depression to heredity, inability to drive, and/or loneliness. A common theme for depressed and non-depressed EA men was "anger as depression" while for many women, children were a cause of depression. For AA men and women, racism was a significant issue. For some, surviving a lifetime of racism prevented current depression while for others, continued racism was a major cause of current depression.;Conclusion. Overall, the study has provided important insight into how depression is perceived and defined by a group of older adults. Themes of anger and the role of children are areas in need of further investigation by clinicians and researchers. |
