Assessment of the factors of mental health of the elderly population of Russia on the basis of individual data

Abstract

Mental health is determined as a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community (WHO 2014, 2017). By taking the example of the elderly population of Russia the article reveals the existence and nature of ties between individual socio-economic characteristics of the older age people and the level of their mental health. The article presents the author’s method of assessment of mental health of the elderly population, which is based on a brief scale of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Individual data from the WHO International Study of Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) conducted in the regions of Russia in 2002-2004 (wave 0) and in 2007-2010 (wave 1) are used as the empirical basis of the study.