Investigating the Factors Affecting Depression By Using Structural Equation Modeling

The objective of the research was to study the factors affecting depression in general population. Materials and Methods. A total of 1,291 individuals at the age of 15-68 years participated in this cross-sectional study. The Demographic Information Form, the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale were used as data collection tools. The data obtained were evaluated in the SPSS 23 package program. Missing data were validated for extreme values, and, then, tested for normality and homogeneity. Testing for the research model was implemented by structural equation modeling using the AMOS program. Results. The following goodness-of-fit values were determined for the revised model predicting the factors influencing depression: χ2 = 535.62, χ2/df = 4.74, the normed fit index = 0.95, the Tucker-Lewis index = 0.95, the comparative fit index = 0.96, the goodness-of-fit index = 0.95, the adjusted goodness-of-fit index = 0.94, the root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.05, the root mean square residual = 0.12, which were within acceptable limits. According to our model, the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (t = 15.923; p < 0.001), gender (t = -5.866; p < 0.001), age (t = -8.193; p < 0.001) and marital status (t = -6.107; p < 0.001) had a significant effect on depression. However, there was no significant relationship between depression score and educational status, place of residence, family type, and smoking. Conclusions. In this model of our study, generalized anxiety disorder was found to have the greatest effect on depression, followed by age, marital status, and gender, respectively.