Worry and Depression in the Old and Young: Differences and Mediating Factors

Abstract

Objective: This study examined whether differences in habitual negative self-thinking and coping strategies might contribute to the age differences in worry and depression. Method: 60 undergraduate students (age range: 18–24 years, M = 19.10, SD = 1.3) and 45 community-dwelling older adults (age range: 60–89 years, M = 73.5, SD = 7.5) participated. Participants completed self-report measures of worry, depression, negative self-thinking, and coping styles. Results: We replicated previous findings that older adults were less worried and less depressed than younger adults. Older adults also reported engaging in less habitual negative thinking and using more problem solving as a coping strategy than younger adults. Furthermore, negative self-thinking and problem-solving skills were found to partially mediate age differences in worry and fully mediate depression scores. Conclusions: These results suggest that habitual negative thinking and problem-solving skills play a role in explaining the lower rates of worry and depression in older populations.

Abbreviated version of Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Chinese adolescents: Age, gender and longitudinal invariance

“…The PSWQ-A positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress, and explained 35, 40, and 49% of the variance in depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. This result also supports the core role of worry, leading to health problems related to stress and negative emotions ( 39–41 ).…”

Younger adults report more distress and less well‐being: A cross‐cultural study of event centrality, depression, post‐traumatic stress disorder and life satisfaction

“…When trying to explain the higher symptoms of psychopathology and lower levels of well-being that have been found in younger samples in some (especially Western) studies, researchers have investigated several mediating factors and potential explanations (Allemand, Zimprich, & Hendriks, 2008;Armstrong et al, 2014;Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999;Gillath, Johnson, Selcuk, & Teel, 2011;Grossmann, Na, Varnum, Kitayama, & Nisbett, 2013;Hatch & Dohrenwend, 2007;Kennedy, Mather, & Carstensen, 2004).…”

“…Numerous studies have examined age-related differences on symptoms of depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and on levels of life satisfaction across the lifespan within specific societies (e.g., Fung et al, 2008;Goldbeck, Schmitz, Besier, Herschbach, & Henrich, 2007;Stordal et al, 2001). These studies concluded that, on average, younger adults report higher symptomatology for depression (Armstrong, Wuthrich, Knight, & Joiner, 2014;Fung et al, 2008;Stordal et al, 2001), PTSD (Borges, Benjet, Petukhova, & Medina-Mora, 2014) and lower scores of life satisfaction (Daig, Herschbach, Lehmann, Knoll, & Decker, 2009;Nordea-Fonden & Institut for Lykkeforskning, 2015). However, these studies have been conducted predominantly in Western societies.…”

Examining social support and its relation to worry in Malaysia

“…In general, these results are far from conclusive, but one consistent finding relates to age: Worry tends to be more prevalent in younger adults compared to older adults (Basevitz, Pushkar, Chaikelson, Conway, & Dalton, 2008; Golden et al, 2011; Gonçalves & Byrne, 2013; Lindesay et al, 2006). Mature adults, it is suggested, have more experience in coping with various problems (Valliant, 1977) and are more likely to feel established or secure in their situations, leaving them less likely to feel threatened about the future (Armstrong, Wuthrich, Knight, & Joiner, 2014; Borkovec, 1988). This is not true for everyone though.…”