The Birth Cohorts Difference in Depression

Cohort effect refers to the social phenomenon that a certain event manifests differently depending on a group that is born in the same year or a similar time period. It is important to understand adolescents’ depressive symptoms vary from generation to generation. We studied the changes of the depressive symptoms during the eighth to tenth grade and examined the difference between the 1997-birth cohort and 2000-birth cohort. The study included 2,070 students (2014–2016 of 2000-birth-cohort data, from 8th to 10th grade, mean age = 12.95–14.95 years) and 2,278 students (2011–2013 of 1997-birth-cohort data, from 8th to 10th grade, mean age = 12.90–14.90 years) who participated in the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey. Latent growth curve modeling and multi-group analysis were used to compare depressive symptom trajectories between cohorts. The result of comparing the depression levels of the cohorts showed the initial values and change rates verifying the presence of a significant cohort effect—the depression level of the 2000-birth-cohort (initial value = 17.75) was significantly lower than the depression level of the 1997-birth-cohort (initial value = 19.49). This study has significance in that adolescents’ depression has both age and cohort effects. It is speculated that the cohort effect may have been impacted by two major events: The Children Problem-Behavior Screening Questionare Test (mental health screening test), implemented nationwide in 2012, and the Sewol Ferry Disaster, which occurred in 2014. Based on the results, suggestions for future research were discussed.