آیا انعطاف پذیری روانی واسطه تاثیر حمایت اجتماعی بر افسردگی سالمندان است؟مطالعه اکتشافی در میان سالمندان چینی در سنگاپور

Social support and resilience were considered to be two significant influential factors for depression in late life. The study aims to present a mediation model for understanding the interrelations among social support, resilience, and geriatric depression. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 162 community-dwelling Chinese older adults in Singapore. Findings indicated a significant indirect effect of social support on geriatric depression through the mediation of resilience, by controlling demographic variables. Further, an identical influencing pattern between problem-solving resilience and emotion regulation resilience were found in the two individual models, suggesting a similar mediation role in linking social support and geriatric depression. These results extended and integrated earlier findings on the relationship of psychosocial factors and geriatric depression, and pointed out practical implications for future work on depression interventions.

An increasing volume of evidence has shown that both the number and percentage of older adults have increased dramatically in modern society (Agüero-Torres et al., 2001). Population aging has led to many concerns about older adults’ mental health in recent decades (Kraaij et al., 2002). People are experiencing many negative stressors in their late life, such as physical illnesses, loss of friends and family members, lack of social interaction, or inadequate economic resources. Depression is one of the most highly prevalent mental disorders caused by the accumulation of stressors in late life (de Beurs et al., 2005). It is estimated that around 12% of adults aged 65 or above in Europe are suffering from depressive symptoms (Copeland et al., 2004). Even higher rates of geriatric depression have been reported in East Asia, such as Taiwan (Chong et al., 2001) and Japan (Wada et al., 2004). Geriatric depression not only negatively affects an individual's well-being (Mann, 2002), but also increases the burden on the public healthcare system (Snowden et al., 2008).

In summary, the results of study extended and integrated earlier findings on the relationship among resilience, social support, and geriatric depression. A mediation model was examined within a survey among 162 Chinese older adults in Singapore, which indicated a significant mediating effect of resilience on the link between social support and geriatric depression. Two individual mediation models of problem solving and emotion regulation were also examined, with similar influencing pattern found as mediators. These findings help provide an integrated understanding of how social support and resilience work together to affect depression, as well as practical implications on developing psychosocial interventions for depression among older adults.