Low income dynamics and depression over the life course in South Korea

Yujin Kim; Hyeyoung Woo; Elizabeth Withers

doi:10.1016/j.alcr.2020.100400

Low income dynamics and depression over the life course in South Korea

Adv Life Course Res. 2021 Jun:48:100400. doi: 10.1016/j.alcr.2020.100400. Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Authors

Yujin Kim¹, Hyeyoung Woo², Elizabeth Withers³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology, Kangwon National University, 1 Gangwondaehak-gil, Seoksa-dong, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, 24341, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: yjkim3@kangwon.ac.kr.
² Department of Sociology, Portland State University, 1721 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, 97207-0751, United States. Electronic address: hyeyoung@pdx.edu.
³ Department of Sociology, Portland State University, 1721 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, 97207-0751, United States. Electronic address: elizabew@pdx.edu.

PMID: 36695140
DOI: 10.1016/j.alcr.2020.100400

Abstract

Objectives: We examined how experiencing low income multiple times is associated with depressive symptoms over the life course to better understand the influence of low income experience on psychological well-being.

Methods: We employed fixed effects models to estimate the association between low income experience and depressive symptoms using data from a longitudinal survey of a representative sample of adults in Korea (N=6,930). We also considered age variations given different perspectives and social circumstances related to different ages and family stages over the life course that potentially modify the association.

Results: Our results revealed that the detrimental influence of low income experience on depressive symptoms slowly declines with additional increments in the number of the exposures. Additionally, although older adults have a higher risk of experiencing low income more than once, the detrimental influence appears more salient among younger adults compared to older individuals.

Discussion: We offered some explanations for the diminishing effects of additional experiences of low income on depressive symptoms, and the age group variations in the association in Korea. We also discussued policy implications of our findings.

Keywords: Depression; Fixed effects models; Korea; Life course; Low income.