The relation of economic conditions, social support, and life events to depression

Evidence for a connection between recession and psychopathology has come from aggregate and individual-level studies. The aggregate studies cannot identify particular mechanisms (e.g., personally experienced life changes caused by the economy versus anticipation of stress on the basis of perceived community conditions versus the interaction of the two). Individual-level studies rarely control for earlier symptoms or, if they do, never include a measure of aggregate conditions (making a cross-level analysis). This study is novel in that it crosses levels of analysis, controls for earlier symptoms, replicates the tests in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan sites, and controls for social support and social support buffering effects. Economic conditions did not affect covariate-adjusted depression directly or in interaction with events, and life events (including economic ones) accounted for little variance in adjusted depression. Controlling for prior symptoms also eliminated the main and buffering effects of social support. The negative results from this cross-level, panel approach raises doubts about the “recession-causes-psychopathology” view and, by inference, lends credence to rival views, such as, “recession-uncovers-pathology.”