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Some Thoughts on the Prevalence and Etiology of Depressive Conditions in the Elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

P. Cappeliez
P. Cappeliez
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
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Abstract

This article reevaluates the issue of the prevalence of depressive conditions (clinical depressions and depressive symptoms) in the elderly with the help of recent epidemiological data. It then underlines several key aspects of the etiology of depressive conditions of older adults. The perspective is a psychosocial analysis, which considers the etiological contributions of three types of factors: the socio-demographic status of the person, life events, and the resources of the person. The article concludes by delineating the implications for research in this area.

Keywords

depressionetiologyprevalenceaged
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 7 , Issue 4: Francophone Research in Gerontology in Canada , Winter/hiver 1988 , pp. 431 - 440
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1988

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