Poverty, deprivation, and depressive symptoms among older adults in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES: Examine the association of income poverty and material deprivation with depression in old age. METHODS: Our data contains a survey of 1,959 older Chinese adults in Hong Kong. We used the Geriatric Depression Scale - Short Form to assess their depressive symptoms. Income poverty was defined as having household income below half the median household income (adjusted by household size); material deprivation was measured by a validated 28-item material deprivation. In addition to income poverty and material deprivation, we also assessed the effect of socio-demographic variables, financial strain, health indicators, and social and community resources on depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Those who experienced material deprivation reported a significantly more severe depressive symptoms, even after income poverty and all other covariates were controlled for; the bivariate association between income poverty and depressive symptoms disappeared once material deprivation was controlled for. Further, we found a significant interaction effect between income poverty and material deprivation on depressive symptoms; and both engagement in cultural activities and neighborhood collective efficacy moderated the impact of being materially deprived on depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our results have important policy implications for the measurement of poverty and for the development of anti-poverty measures for materially deprived older adults.