The Effect Of Clinical Depression Risk And Job Physical Effort On Job, Financial, And Life Satisfaction In The Mid-life In The United States (MIDUS) Study

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of clinical depression risk and job physical effort on job, financial, and life satisfaction in the Mid-Life in the United States (MIDUS) study. METHODS: Individuals from MIDUS wave 3 with phone survey and questionnaire data were included in this analysis (N = 905, Age: 57 ± 1 years). Individuals were classified as at risk (≥ 16; CES-D+) or not at risk (<16; CES-D-) for clinical depression using scores from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and placed into job effort categories by frequency of participation in physical effort at work all or most of the time (HIGH), some or little of the time (SOME), or not at all (NONE). Job and financial satisfaction (JS; FS) were self-reported. Change scores were created to assess differences between life satisfaction at the time of and ten years prior to sampling (ΔLS). Depression risk x job effort analyses of variance with least-squared difference pairwise comparisons were implemented for each dependent variable. RESULTS: Main effects of depression risk and job effort were observed for JS and FS such that JS was impaired in CES-D+ individuals in SOME and HIGH categories compared to CES-D- individuals. FS was reduced in CES-D+ individuals compared to CES-D- individuals regardless of job effort. JS in CES-D+ individuals was augmented for SOME compared to HIGH while CES-D- individuals in the HIGH category had impaired FS compared to NONE and SOME. A depression risk x job effort interaction was noted for ΔLS such that CES-D+ individuals in the HIGH category had impaired ΔLS compared to CES-D- individuals and CES-D+ individuals in the NONE and SOME categories. CONCLUSION: Robust decreases in life satisfaction are observed specifically in CES-D+ individuals with physically demanding jobs, while JS and FS are attenuated among most CES-D+ individuals. Future analyses should evaluate moderators of reduced life satisfaction such as retirement age, health perceptions, and aging challenges. Table 1. - Means and effects for job, financial, and Δ life satisfaction across groups. Current Job Satisfaction Current Financial Satisfaction Δ Life Satisfaction At Risk for Clinical Depression NONE 7.67 ± 0.54 6.29 ± 0.47* 0.95 ± 0.39§ SOME 6.51 ± 0.38*§ 6.00 ± 0.36* 0.00 ± 0.29§ HIGH 5.50 ± 0.49* 5.05 ± 0.45* -1.27 ± 0.38* Not at Risk for Clinical Depression NONE 7.93 ± 0.19 7.34 ± 0.17†§ 0.25 ± 0.14 SOME 7.66 ± 0.13 6.86 ± 0.12† 0.24 ± 0.10 HIGH 7.62 ± 0.25 6.32 ± 0.23 0.18 ± 0.19 Main Effect of Depression Risk F, p 15.638, <0.001 15.766, <0.001 2.202, 0.138 ηp 2 0.025 0.024 0.003 Main Effect of Job Effort F, p 4.846, 0.008 5.255, 0.005 7.622, < 0.001 ηp 2 0.016 0.016 0.024 Interaction F, p 2.731, 0.066 0.219, 0.803 6.610, 0.001 ηp 2 0.009 0.001 0.020