A Longitudinal Study on Marital Status and Depression: Variations by Gender and Age Cohorts

Abstract

This study examines the gender and age-cohort variations in the association between marital status and depression among the adult population in South Korea. Using data from three waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study (2006, 2010, and 2014), we estimated a two-group latent growth model (N=7,640). We found that unmarried individuals had higher levels of depressive symptoms during the 8-year follow-up period than did married individuals. The differences in depressive symptoms between the divorced and the married were greater particularly for women than for men. Our results also revealed that the association between marriage and depression varies with age cohorts: There were psychological advantages to have a spouse among those who are in their 30’s, and the advantages were even greater for the middle-aged cohorts. However, for those who are in their 60’s and older at the baseline, the marriage advantages diminished. The diminishing advantages appeared more salient among women compared to men, and in fact, married women have higher levels of depressive symptoms than unmarried counterparts among the age cohorts of 80 and older. Our findings may contribute to the implementation of policies that aim to improve the psychological well-being of Korean adults by identifying groups that may be more vulnerable to depression given their marital status.