Ann Geriatr Med Res.  2018 Mar;22(1):33-39. 10.4235/agmr.2018.22.1.33.

Contrasting Effects of Spousal Education on Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Middle-Aged and Older Adults

• Jang SN
• Kawachi I

• KMID: 2415648
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4235/agmr.2018.22.1.33

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Within marital dyads, we focused on the so-called positive spillover effects of one spousal partner's educational attainment on the health of the other partner. This study examined the relationship between spousal educational attainment and depressive symptoms in Korean older adults.
METHODS
Data were obtained from a sample of marital dyads aged 45 or older (total 6,824 husbands and wives) from the baseline survey of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Depressive symptoms were measured by the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D 10). A stepwise actor-partner interdependence model was used to examine the association between own and spousal educational attainment and depressive symptoms, conditioning for covariates.
RESULTS
Among men, we found that their wives' educational attainment did not influence their mental health, whereas, among women, their depressive symptoms were inversely related to their husbands' level of schooling. With regard to own education, more-educated men reported lower psychological distress, whereas, among women, there was no overall association. However, in a subset of Korean women with the highest level of household income, higher educational attainment was associated with more depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSION
Our findings underscore the need to incorporate the cultural context in examining the spillover effects of education on health within marriage.

Keyword

Depressive symptoms; Marital status; Educational level; Dyad analysis

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Depression*
Education*
Epidemiologic Studies
Family Characteristics
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Marital Status
Marriage
Mental Health
Spouses
Surveys and Questionnaires