Final Paper; The Role of Social Life, Alcohol Habits, and Gender in Depression Risk
Lucas Machicao
2025-06-16
This study employs a cross-sectional observational study design to investigate the social determinants of depression using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) Wave 11. The analysis focuses on the relationship between depressive symptoms, measured through the CES- D8 scale, and two key independent variables: the frequency of social meetings and alcohol consumption. This design allows for an exploration of the associations between the variables at a single point in time, providing valuable insights into their potential relationships within a defined population.
Hypothesis 1: Higher frequency of social meetings is associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms.
Hypothesis 2: Higher alcohol consumption is associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms.
Hypothesis 3: When binary thresholds are applied to alcohol consumption and social meeting frequency, individuals who report both frequent social interaction and regular alcohol consumption are expected to exhibit lower levels of depressive symptoms. This potential protective effect is hypothesized to occur only when both conditions are met; frequent alcohol consumption in the absence of regular social contact is not expected to produce the same outcome.
Data sample from Germany
| Gender | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Male | 1214 |
| Female | 1206 |
Depression
Plots of ESS11 Germany; Scale CES_D8 by gender
| Clinically Depressed | Frequency |
|---|---|
| No | 1975 |
| Yes | 424 |
Alchol Frequency
Linear Regression Model
| Variable | Estimate | Std. Error | t value | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 2392.000 | NA | NA | NA |
| R-squared | 0.091 | NA | NA | NA |
| (Intercept) | 8.402 | 0.753 | 11.153 | 0.000 |
| sclmeetLess than once a month | 0.473 | 0.740 | 0.639 | 0.523 |
| sclmeetOnce a month | -1.998 | 0.743 | -2.690 | 0.007 |
| sclmeetSeveral times a month | -2.309 | 0.709 | -3.256 | 0.001 |
| sclmeetOnce a week | -2.729 | 0.716 | -3.810 | 0.000 |
| sclmeetSeveral times a week | -2.849 | 0.707 | -4.031 | 0.000 |
| sclmeetEvery day | -3.070 | 0.737 | -4.167 | 0.000 |
| alcfreqSeveral times a week | -1.046 | 0.355 | -2.948 | 0.003 |
| alcfreqOnce a week | -0.590 | 0.356 | -1.657 | 0.098 |
| alcfreq2-3 times a month | -0.810 | 0.374 | -2.165 | 0.030 |
| alcfreqOnce a month | -0.603 | 0.403 | -1.495 | 0.135 |
| alcfreqLess than once a month | -0.193 | 0.365 | -0.528 | 0.597 |
| alcfreqNever | 0.326 | 0.359 | 0.910 | 0.363 |
| gndrFemale | 0.639 | 0.158 | 4.048 | 0.000 |
The regression results show that higher social meeting frequency is strongly associated with lower depression scores. Alcohol consumption exhibits a weaker, non-linear relationship with depression, where abstainers report slightly higher symptoms than occasional drinkers. Additionally, females have higher depression levels than males. These findings highlight the protective role of social interaction and gender differences in depressive symptoms. The subsequent phase of this study will focus on binary analyses of alcohol use and social meeting frequency to further clarify these relationships. A red dashed line at the value of 8.32 on the depression scale is introduced as a threshold to distinguish groups in both cases.
| Alcohol Consumption | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Infrequent drinkers | 1896 |
| Every day -or- non drinkers | 524 |
| Social Meeting | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Social | 2245 |
| No-social | 175 |
##Logistic Regression Model for binary variables
| Variable | Estimate | Std. Error | z value | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Intercept) | -2.078 | 0.094 | -22.092 | <0.001 |
| alcoholic | 0.589 | 0.123 | 4.797 | <0.001 |
| asocial | 1.489 | 0.167 | 8.919 | <0.001 |
| gndrFemale | 0.447 | 0.112 | 4.004 | <0.001 |
The logistic regression model was conducted to examine the association between depression and three predictors: alcohol consumption patterns, frequency of social interaction, and gender. Results indicated that individuals who either drink alcohol every day or never drink (compared to infrequent or moderate drinkers) had significantly higher odds of experiencing depression (OR ≈ 1.80, p < 0.001). Furthermore, participants classified as socially inactive—those who meet others less than once a month—had substantially increased odds of depression, with an estimated odds ratio of approximately 4.43 (p < 0.001), making this the strongest predictor in the model. Finally, being female was also associated with higher odds of depression compared to being male (OR ≈ 1.56, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that limited social contact and extreme patterns of alcohol use may be key factors associated with depressive symptoms, and that gender disparities in mental health should also be considered in intervention strategies.
Conclusion:
The results of the logistic regression indicate that low social engagement, extreme patterns of alcohol consumption (either drinking every day or complete abstention), and being female are significantly associated with higher odds of reporting depression. Notably, social isolation emerges as the strongest predictor. While individuals who drink every day or do not drink at all show higher odds of depression compared to moderate drinkers, this does not imply that alcohol consumption itself is protective; rather, it may reflect underlying lifestyle or psychosocial factors associated with these drinking behaviors. Additionally, the significant association with female gender underlines the need for gender-sensitive approaches in mental health policy and intervention design. Overall, the findings reinforce the importance of promoting social connectivity and addressing the complex, multifaceted nature of depression risk.
Social Meetings