Abstract
This study examined the reciprocal relationship between intelligence and depressive symptoms over time, in an elderly Japanese sample. Participants (age range＝65–79: N＝725) were from the first wave of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA). They were tested three times and followed for about 4 years. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) and intelligence was assessed by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Short Forms (WAIS-R-SF). Structural equation modeling with a cross-lagged panel design showed that intelligence was related to subsequent depressive symptoms at every time point, such that poorer cognitive functioning was related to higher depressive symptoms. However, depressive symptoms were unrelated to subsequent intelligence. These findings suggest that intellectual ability may predict depressive symptoms in community-dwelling Japanese elderly adults.
