In this paper, we contribute to a growing literature on debt and mental health and ask whether patterns of unsecured debt accumulation and repayment over two decades are associated with depressive symptoms at age 50. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort and group trajectory models, we have three key findings. First, we find substantial heterogeneity in debt trajectories across the life course. Second, respondents who report consistently high debt levels across the life course or who cycle in and out of high debt report significantly more depressive symptoms than respondents who hold consistently low levels of debt. These findings hold for both absolute and relative (debt-to-income) debt. Third, we find that the association between debt and depressive symptoms is strongest among respondents with less than a college degree, but we find less evidence for heterogeneity by race in this cohort.

中文翻译：

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整个生命过程中的无担保债务轨迹和中年心理健康。


在本文中，我们为越来越多的关于债务和心理健康的文献做出了贡献，并询问二十年来无担保债务积累和偿还模式是否与 50 岁时的抑郁症状相关。使用来自 1979 年全国青年纵向研究队列和小组的数据轨迹模型中，我们有三个关键发现。首先，我们发现整个生命周期的债务轨迹存在很大的异质性。其次，在整个生命过程中债务水平持续较高或反复出现高债务的受访者比债务水平持续较低的受访者报告的抑郁症状明显更多。这些发现对于绝对债务和相对（债务与收入）债务均成立。第三，我们发现债务与抑郁症状之间的关联在大学学历以下的受访者中最强，但我们发现该群体中种族异质性的证据较少。