The influence of negative wealth shock on depressive symptoms and major depressive episode among older adults.

A negative wealth shock (i.e., a sudden large loss in wealth) represents a stressful life event that threatens older adults' mental health. This study examines whether a negative wealth shock is associated with both 12-month major depressive episodes and 1-week depressive symptoms over time among older adults, compared to positive wealth without a shock. This study also examines whether baseline net worth moderates the association between a negative wealth shock and depressive symptoms. The study utilized a national sample of 15,660 individuals from six waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2008-2018). We estimated mixed-effects models based on respondents' self-reported wealth and depressive symptoms. A negative wealth shock was defined as a loss of 75 % in total wealth compared to the previous wave. We applied inverse probability weighting to account for potential selection bias. A negative wealth shock was associated with 1.30 times higher odds of having major depressive episodes compared to positive wealth. Both a negative wealth shock (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.30, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.06-1.60) and baseline negative wealth (IRR = 1.05, 95 % CI: 1.01-1.09) were associated with a higher rate of depressive symptoms compared to positive wealth. No interaction effects between baseline net worth and a negative wealth shock on depressive symptoms were observed. A negative wealth shock in mid-to-late life has detrimental effects on both 12-month and past-week depressive symptoms, providing implications for mental health programs for older adults at financial risk.