(Withdrawn) Gender differences in the effect of education on depression in later life

Barbara Schaan, University of Mannheim

Education is known to be beneficial for mental health. But do men and women profit from education equally? And does the gender difference in the effect of education on depression depend on the cultural context? Following the work of Ross and Mirowsky (2006) I use two waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to test resource multiplication theory (education improves well-being more for women, since they rely more on education because of socioeconomic disadvantages) and resource multiplication theory (education improves well-being more for men because they can derive higher labor market payoffs from it) within a European context. Preliminary results indicate support for the resource substitution theory. Higher education decreases levels of depression more for women than for men, and this effect persists into retirement. However, the effect is significant in Southern and Eastern European countries as well as in Ireland only.