Examining Links Between Individual Depressive Symptoms, Indicators of Socioeconomic Status, and Stressors

Individuals with a lower socioeconomic status (SES) are at an increased risk for developing depressive symptoms. However, it has not been investigated whether this link is homogenous, or whether specific depressive symptoms relate to SES differentially. In this thesis, I explored (1) which individual symptoms of depression are related to subjective social status (as a proxy for SES); (2) how specific indicators of SES are related to specific symptoms of depression; and (3) how the addition of stressors impacts the relations between SES indicators and depressive symptoms. I used data previously gathered from 448 students aged ≥18 at institutions of higher education in the Netherlands, as a part of the WARN-D study. Variables were assessed through a questionnaire that was administered online. I estimated three regularised partial correlation networks to explore shared variances among nine symptoms of depression, five indicators of SES, and seven stressors. The network analyses...Show moreIndividuals with a lower socioeconomic status (SES) are at an increased risk for developing depressive symptoms. However, it has not been investigated whether this link is homogenous, or whether specific depressive symptoms relate to SES differentially. In this thesis, I explored (1) which individual symptoms of depression are related to subjective social status (as a proxy for SES); (2) how specific indicators of SES are related to specific symptoms of depression; and (3) how the addition of stressors impacts the relations between SES indicators and depressive symptoms. I used data previously gathered from 448 students aged ≥18 at institutions of higher education in the Netherlands, as a part of the WARN-D study. Variables were assessed through a questionnaire that was administered online. I estimated three regularised partial correlation networks to explore shared variances among nine symptoms of depression, five indicators of SES, and seven stressors. The network analyses revealed that (1) subjective social status (as a proxy for SES) was negatively associated with guilt/worthlessness, depressed mood, anhedonia, trouble concentrating, and feeling tired, meaning that participants with higher scores on subjective social status had, on average, lower scores on these symptoms; (2) educational level (as one of multiple indicators of SES) was negatively associated with appetite disturbances, and the ability to get by financially was negatively associated with depressed mood, guilt/worthlessness, and appetite disturbances; (3) these associations diminished considerably or disappeared altogether when controlling for the stressor variables. Overall, all SES-depression associations were small in magnitude. The results suggest that patterns of depressive symptoms might differ between high-SES and low-SES individuals. Future research should explore the mechanisms behind these differences to guide prevention and intervention. My findings are consistent with previous research showing that symptom composite scores obscure important differences between individuals.Show less

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Examining Links Between Individual Depressive Symptoms, Indicators of Socioeconomic Status, and Stressors