Depression symptoms in older adults with cancer: A multilevel longitudinal study

ABSTRACTObjective: Data from the Health and Retirement Study were used to test a conceptual model integrating stress and coping, conservation of resources, and life-course theories, to investigate predictors of depression symptoms over 8 years among a nationally representative sample of older adults aged 50–91 years. The main investigative questions were: (1) Do older adults with cancer have a different 8-year symptomatic depression trajectory than those without cancer? (2) Do the differences in life-course factors, internal, external, and health-related resources within and between older adults have a differential effect on 8-year symptomatic depression trajectories for individuals with and without a cancer diagnosis? Methods: We used a two-level longitudinal panel design to test a multilevel growth model. We examined individual differences in depression symptoms between 2000 and 2008, and tested multiple potential predictors. All those with a first diagnosis of cancer in 1998–2000 were included in the s...