A Longitudinal Study of the Influence of Spousal Violence on Depression Among Community Dwelling Older Adults in South Korea

Introduction

Among the rapidly growing older population in South Korea mental and psychological health are deeply rooted in family (Kim, 2010; Kim & Yu, 2012). Particularly among older adults, spousal relationship quality influences physical and mental health (Santini, Koyanagi, Tyrovolas, & Haro, 2015). According to a domestic violence survey in Korea (Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 2010) couples ages 65 and over experienced physical (7.1%), emotional (23.9%), financial (5.3%) and sexual violence (3.1%) and neglect (15.4%). Yet, studies have mainly focused on spousal violence among younger adults (Kim, 2010). Research on marital violence in later life is rare. No longitudinal study exists about the influence of spousal violence on depression among older Korean adults. The purposes of this study are to: 1) investigate the average pattern of change over time in depression among older adults who have had a violent spouse; 2) examine differences in patterns of change in depression over time; and 3) assess whether differences in patterns of depression over time are related to sex.

Methods

 This study used data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study. The sample consisted of 102 community-dwelling older adults who had a violent spouse. Researchers selected those who had at least 1 incident of spousal violence in each of the three waves (2012, 2013 and 2014). Spousal violence was operationalized as verbal, physical threatening and physical violence. Verbal violence was defined as offensive and malicious talk, physical threatening as a threat of physical violence, physical violence as direct physical violence as direct physical harm. The dependent variable was depression as measured using the CES-D-11 (potential range 0 – 60, clinical cutting score =16) (Kohout, Berkman, Evans, & Cornoni-Huntley, 1993). The level-1 covariate was time. Participant’s depression was measured in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The level-2 covariate was sex. There were 47 females (46.1%) and 55 males (53.9%). Multi-Level Modeling (MLM) was employed to examine the longitudinal influence of a violent spouse on depression in later life.

Results

The random intercepts and slopes model indicated that average depression in the first year of the study was 5.63, and there was a statistically significant increase in depression over three years (slope = 1.15). In addition, there were statistically significant differences in depression among participants at the beginning of the study, but not over time. Women were more depressed than men at the beginning of the study (slope = - 1.49) (intercepts as outcomes model), but there was not a statistically significant relationship between sex and changes in depression over time (i.e., no cross-level interaction).

Implications

Many studies focus on depression among younger generations or older women who suffer from marital violence. Yet, this study demonstrated that violence persists in later life not only for women but also for men. Furthermore, people who suffer higher levels of depression experience faster rate of increase in their depression as time goes by. Time tailored interventions are needed for this population.