Rural-urban women’s experience of symptoms of depression related to economic hardship

This study compares rural and urban women's experiences of depressive symptoms. Cross-sectional data were used from 623 women 55 years of age and older who were part of a randomly selected community based sample. Theoretical perspectives included individual stress and community context as explanatory factors contributing to differences in the proportion of women who identify having had the experience of symptoms of depression. Results of the analysis using correlation and multiple regression supported the importance of perceptions of financial status. Community type and age were not related to the level of depressive symptoms reported by the women who were interviewed.