Abstract
This research examines whether the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and change in depression in late life is explained by trajectories of risk of physical limitations. Using a longitudinal study of older adults, this study documents multiple trajectories of risk of mobility limitations and basic activities of daily living (ADLs). Membership in these trajectories explains a substantial portion of the association between SES and change in depression, but it is only when both aspects of physical limitations are taken into account that this association is reduced to nonsignificance. This research demonstrates that important influences on changes in depression in late life are not simply due to aging, but instead are centrally contingent on individual placement in structures of inequality. Furthermore, the findings underscore that attention to both mobility limitations and ADLs is required to explain the relationship between SES and change in depression in late life.
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