Introduction: Mental health among older adults constitutes an increasingly important public health concern in the context of population ageing and widening socio-economic inequalities. While social relationships are commonly conceptualized as protective factors, the relative contribution of socio-economic conditions compared with social network characteristics to depressive symptomatology in later life remains insufficiently examined in the Bulgarian context.
Aim: The aim of the present study is to examine the relative impact of socio-economic factors (income and educational attainment) in comparison with social network characteristics on mental health and depressive symptomatology among older adults in Bulgaria.
Materials and Methods: A secondary cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from the seventh and eighth waves of the Pan-European Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including respondents aged 50 years and older in Bulgaria. Depressive symptomatology was measured using the EURO-D scale. Net household income, educational attainment (ISCED classification), and social network size were included as key independent variables. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, and correlation analyses were employed.
Results: Statistically significant negative associations were observed between income and depressive symptomatology, as well as between educational attainment and depression. Lower income and lower levels of education were associated with higher EURO-D scores, indicating a pronounced social gradient in depressive symptomatology. No statistically significant association was identified between social network size and depressive symptomatology. Higher levels of depression were observed among women and among respondents aged 80 years and older.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that socio-economic factors, particularly income and educational attainment, have a stronger association with mental health outcomes among older adults in Bulgaria than quantitative measures of social networks. These results underscore the role of structural socio-economic inequalities in shaping the social gradient of depression in later life.
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