Support #1957
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Depression diagnosis variable BHPS
Added by Michael Huber over 1 year ago.
Updated about 1 year ago.
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Data documentation
Description
Hello,
I am sorry, I think I selected the wrong "assignee".
I am working on my masters thesis on depression and planned to use the BHPS data set (w6-w18). There are questions to self-assess whether someone is struggling with depression.
Is there any question which covers whether someone has been clinically DIAGNOSED with depression (like the variable "hcond17" in the Understanding Society data set)?
Or asked differently: Does the variable "hlprbi" in the bhps data set mean, that someone is diagnosed, or does it mean that the individual self-asses oneself as being depressed?
If there is no such variable, is it possible to use the variable "hcond17" and hcond17a" from the Understanding society dataset, link it via the idp to the BHPS data set and create a new variable in the bhps dataset which determines whether and when an individual from the bhps got diagnosed?
Thank you very much in advance! I hope I was able to state my concern in an understandable way.
Best regards,
Michael
Files
Hello Michael,
Do you have a specific reason for preferring BHPS? If not, I would recommend considering UKHLS. The latter includes questions that pertain to clinically DIAGNOSED conditions, unlike BHPS which inquires about whether they simply had the condition without confirmation from a health professional. Please find attached a short document with an explanation of health conditions variables. It contains some Stata code for specific conversions.
The Study contains additional variables that assess well-being and mental health aspects, such as depression, through scghq1_dv, scghq2_dv, and sf12mcs_dv. However, these questionnaires are self-completed. You might explore them to see if they are relevant to your research.
I hope this information is helpful.
Best wishes,
Roberto Cavazos
Understanding Society User Support Team
Hi Roberto,
Thank you for your answer.
Yes, the reason is, that I need a variable which represents windfall income (like lottery winnings). And this variable on the other hand is only available in the BHPS data set - as far as I know.
So, do you think it is possible to construct my own "diagnosed depression" - variable:
Individual x states in a UKLS survey, that he got diagnosed first when he was 25. He was 25 in year 1999. Therefore, I could construct a dummy in year 1999 for this individual which states that he got diagnosed "suffering from depression". This I could do for every survey wave. Whether someone got diagnosed this year or not.
Or do you have any obvious issues in mind when following this process?
Thank you again.
All the best,
Michael
Hello Michael,
Certainly, I understand. This seems feasible. I suggest you take a look at the variables hconda17 for waves 1, 3 to 9, and hconda38 for waves 10 to 12. Additionally, consider exploring the variable hconda40.
To gain a clearer understanding of the question routing and the scope of each question, I recommend reviewing the health condition modules for each respective wave. You can access these modules at the following link: https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/documentation/mainstage/dataset-documentation/questionnaire-modules. You just search for “health” to identify the respective modules.
I hope this information is helpful.
Best wishes,
Roberto Cavazos
Understanding Society User Support Team
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