Social Relationships and Mental Health Disparities by Race/Ethnicity in Late-middle-age and Older Adulthood

Abstract

Social strain and lack of social support are associated with depression, but it remains unclear whether racial/ethnic differences in social relationships shape racial/ethnic disparities in late-middle age and late-life mental health. Using data from Health and Retirement Study 2006–2016 (N = 5,139), this study estimated negative binomial regressions to examine whether differential exposure to and differential effect of social support and strain with spouses, children, family members, and friends explain Black-White and Latinx-White disparities in depressive symptoms. The findings indicate that minority older adults, especially Latinx, have more depressive symptoms than Whites. Although social support compensates for some mental health gaps, mediation and moderation analyses reveal that such disparities are attributable to Black and Latinx late-middle-aged and older adults’ greater exposure to social strain and diminished returns of social support from spouses and children as compared with Whites. This study offers insights regarding how mental health inequality is impacted by racial/ethnic differences in stress exposure and the protective effect of social relationships.