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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Functional impairment, illness burden, and depressive symptoms in older adults
— does type of social relationship matter? | | Author(s) | Joshua P Hatfield, Jameson K Hirsch, Jeffrey M Lyness |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 28, no 2, February 2013 |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell, February 2013 |
| Pages | pp 190-198 |
| Source | www.orangejournal.org |
| Keywords | Health [elderly] ; Ill health ; Physical capacity ; Mental health [elderly] ; Depression ; Family relationships ; Informal care. |
| Annotation | The nature of interpersonal relationships, whether supportive or critical, may affect the association between health status and mental health outcomes. This study examined the potential moderating effects of social support as a buffer, and family criticism as an exacerbating factor, on the association between illness burden, functional impairment and depressive symptoms. A sample of 735 older adults aged 65 years and above was recruited from internal and family medicine primary care offices. Trained interviewers administered the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Duke Social Support Inventory, and Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scale. Physician-rated assessments of health, including the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, were also completed. Linear multivariable hierarchical regression results indicated that social interaction was a significant buffer, weakening the association between illness burden and depressive symptoms, whereas perceived social support buffered the relationship between functional impairment and depressive symptoms. Family criticism and instrumental social support were not significant moderators. The study concludes that the type of medical dysfunction, whether illness or impairment, may require different therapeutic and supportive approaches. Enhancement of perceived social support, for those who are impaired, and encouragement of social interactions, for those who are ill, may be important intervention targets for treatment of depressive symptoms in older adult primary care patients. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-130118219 A |
| Classmark | CC: CH: BI: D: ENR: DS:SJ: P6 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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