Trajectories of depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: A six-month longitudinal study with monthly assessment

Background: This study aimed to examine six-month trajectories of depressive symptoms and their predictors for community-dwelling older adults. Innovations included monthly assessments, examination of non-linear trajectories, and inclusion of coping styles as predictors. Method: Data were derived from a six-month longitudinal study of 144 community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptoms (Short-Geriatric Depression Scale [S-GDS] >= 5) with seven waves of data. Descriptive analyses and individual growth curve modeling were conducted. Results: The majority of participants changed symptom levels over time; most participants with severe symptoms at baseline remained at least mildly depressed at six months. Younger participants were more depressed at baseline and improved slightly more than older participants. Those who used more active and emotional support coping had faster improvement and maintained gains, whereas those who used less of these coping styles demonstrated worse symptoms over the six-month follow-up period. Limitations: The most significant limitations are the convenience sampling methods and relatively small sample size, although the large number of assessments (7 waves) increases precision of the statistical methods used. Conclusions: Findings suggest that it may be beneficial to target interventions to older adults with more severe depressive symptoms and who display low levels of active and emotional support coping. Behavioral interventions that improve these coping styles may help depressed older adults recover and maintain treatment gains over time. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.