The Effect of Socioeconomic Status to Depression of Perimenopause Women: Pathway Analysis Using the Reserve Capacity Model

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#Based on the Reserve Capacity Model, this study investigated the effects of pre- and postmenopausal women’s socioeconomic status (SES) on depression, focusing on the mediating effects of self-esteem, happiness, and family relationship satisfaction with social network relationships. @*Methods@#This cross-sectional study involved secondary analysis of national data on 771 perimenopause women gathered from the 16th Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) 2021. A path analysis model was constructed to evaluate the relationship between SES, social network satisfaction, self-esteem, perceived health status, and depression. Data were analyzed using ADANCO 2.3.1 and Mplus 8.4. @*Results@#Although SES had no direct effect on depression, it did affect depression through self-esteem, happiness, and satisfaction with family relationships. @*Conclusion@#The findings of this study indicate that perimenopausal women’s personal resources—psychosocial variables such as self-esteem and happiness—had a higher effect on depression than tangible reserves like SES. Therefore, interventions for enhancing self-esteem and happiness may prevent depression in perimenopausal women effectively.