Cited by 87Survey Methodology and NonresponseSurvey Sampling and Estimation TechniquesMental Health Treatment and Access

Age, Depression, and Attrition in the National Survey of Families and Households

MIROWSKY, JOHN, REYNOLDS, JOHN R.·2000·Sociological Methods & Research

Abstract

It might seem that following people over time provides the best indication of how people change with age. Sample attrition can undermine that assumption. This study describes the impact of health, impairment, and depression on attrition in the National Survey of Families and Households. It analyzes the impact of that attrition on estimates of the age-specific changes in depression over a six-year period. In doing so, it illustrates methods for assessing and perhaps correcting the effects of attrition. Results show that the cross-sectional relationship of baseline depression to age differs sharply for those who later drop out compared with those who stay in. Much of the difference, but not all, vanishes with adjustment for health and impairment. The probability of dropping out increases with poor health, impairment, and depression at baseline. The impact of impairment and depression on attrition increases with age. Panel models that ignore the attrition imply that depression decreases in old age. Models that adjust for the hazard of attrition imply that depression rises by an amount that increases with age.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0049124100028004004

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Authors
MIROWSKY, J., & REYNOLDS, J. R.
Affiliations
  • The Ohio State University (US)
  • Florida State University (US)
Venue
Sociological Methods & Research
Published
2000-05
Volume
28
Issue
4
Pages
476-504
ISSN
  • 0049-1241 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-8294
OpenAlex
W2037278160
Cited by
87
References
28
Citations by year
2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 6
FWCI
20.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Sociological Methods & Research (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Survey Sampling and Estimation Techniques
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
sample attrition, depression, aging, National Survey of Families and Households, functional disability, panel data, age differences in depression, older adults

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