Older Adults Are Less Likely to Identify Depression Without Sadness

Abstract

Many older adults do not identify depression or the need for professional treatment. Late-life depression frequently occurs without dysphoria (i.e., depressed mood or sadness); in such cases, older adults may have particular difficulty identifying depression, leading to poor health outcomes. The aims were to examine the hypotheses that older adults would be more likely to identify depression and need for professional help in a vignette of a depressed older adult with sadness versus without sadness. In a randomized experiment, 244 community-dwelling older adults (60+) read one of two vignettes and answered questions about their perceptions of the problem, solutions, and their own background. Less than half (40.98%) identified the person as depressed (sad vignette: 48.33%; vignette without sadness: 33.87%). Participants were more likely to identify depression if they had personal mental health experience, more positive expectations regarding aging, and read the sad vignette. They were more likely to recommend professional help if they identified depression. Older adults’ identification of depression and need for professional help remain low, particularly in the absence of dysphoria.