Exploring trajectories of depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults: Effects of gender and social activity participation

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the trajectory of late‐life depressive symptoms and to explore the effect of gender and social activity participation on that trajectory. Data from 4943 older adults aged 60 and above from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018) were analyzed using the Latent Growth Curve Model (LGCM) in Mplus. The results were (1) late‐life depressive symptoms increased during the survey; (2) at the initiation level, depression was higher in women than men, while there was no gender difference in the rate of change; and (3) lower social activity participation significantly negatively affected the increase of depressive symptoms in old age at that time. The findings implicated that, first, it is essential to screen for depressive symptoms and prevent or slow the growth of depressive symptoms in geriatric services on time. Second, services to improve depressive symptoms in older adults do not simply work separately by gender. Finally, welfare policymakers should consider how to support older adults to actively participate in social activities to prevent or slow down the growth of depressive symptoms.