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The Reciprocal Relationship between Depressive Symptoms and Alcohol Consumption: Group Comparison by Employment Status
Author(s) -
Kwon Tae Yeon,
Kahng Sang Kyoung,
Kim Hyemee
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
asian social work and policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.286
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1753-1411
pISSN - 1753-1403
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-1411.2009.00036.x
Subject(s) - reciprocal , structural equation modeling , alcohol consumption , alcohol , depressive symptoms , psychology , depression (economics) , consumption (sociology) , mental health , clinical psychology , psychiatry , economics , mathematics , anxiety , sociology , philosophy , linguistics , statistics , biochemistry , chemistry , social science , macroeconomics
As most previous studies have focused on a unidirectional relationship between depression and alcohol use using cross‐sectional data, not much is known about the reciprocal relationship between them. Using two waves of longitudinal data, this study examines their reciprocal relationship and whether it varies by employment status, using structural equation modeling (SEM). A theory‐based SEM was developed based on the tension reduction hypothesis and the intoxication hypothesis. The reciprocal relationship between alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms was found to be statistically significant. However, the relationship between the two varied by employment status. For the unemployed, the effect of depressive symptoms on alcohol consumption was significant whereas the effect of alcohol consumption on depressive symptoms was significant among the employed. These findings suggest that alcohol and mental health prevention programs should be tailored in terms of the users’ employment status.