Gender disparities and depressive symptoms over the life course and across cohorts in China

Abstract

Background: Gendered depressive symptom trajectories have long been documented. In the past few decades, China has witnessed volatile gender equity development, while it is unclear how gendered depression trajectories vary by age and cohort under this uneven social change.

Methods: Using three-wave (2012, 2016, and 2018) data from the China Family Panel Studies (N = 33,858, 72,653 person-years), this study examines how gendered depression trajectories evolve over the life course (ages 16-65) and vary across birth cohorts.

Results: The gender gap in depressive symptoms has been growing as people get older. The cohort comparisons show that the depression levels are higher among younger cohorts than among older cohorts. The gender disparity in depressive symptoms has narrowed among younger rural cohorts, mainly driven by the deteriorated mental health of rural males instead of the improved mental health of rural females.

Limitations: Data covering a six-year span can hardly reveal how the period effects shape depression trajectories and thus are unable to simultaneously show age, period, and cohort effects.

Conclusions: Overall, this study suggests that social changes, such as gender equity development, may shape the age and cohort variations in gender disparity in depressive trajectories. Scholars and policymakers should pay more attention to the worsening mental health condition of younger cohorts, especially in rural areas.

Keywords: China; Cohort; Depressive symptom; Gender disparity; Life course.