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Relationship between spouse/partner support and depressive symptoms in older adults: gender difference
- Authors:
- CHOI Namkee G., HA Jung-Hwa
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(3), April 2011, pp.307-317.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of spouse or partner support that may be associated with depressive symptoms in late life, and the gender difference in such relationships. The data for this study came from face-to-face interviews with 2924 community-dwelling individuals aged 57-85 conducted as part of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, Wave 1. Depressive symptoms were measured by the 11-item, 4-point Center for Epidemiologic Scale for Depression (CES-D), and spouse/partner support was measured by a 4-item scale, an abbreviated version of the original spouse support/strain scale developed by Schuster et al. (1990). The results from regression analyses showed that low perceived spouse/partner support, as opposed to unavailability of the support, was associated with higher depressive symptomatology among women only, while high spouse/partner support was associated with lower depressive symptomatology for both genders. These relationship patterns were found in both younger and older groups of men and women. The results demonstrate that, unlike older men with unsupportive spouses/partners, older women with unsupportive spouses/partners appear to be worse off emotionally than their peers who lack spouses/partners.
Moderators in the relationship between social contact and psychological distress among widowed adults
- Authors:
- HA Jung-Hwa, INGERSOLL-DAYTON Berit
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(3), April 2011, pp.354-363.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Widowhood is an extremely stressful life event that brings significant social changes to the surviving spouse. This study examined the effect of widowed persons' frequency of contact with friends and relatives on their depressive and grief symptoms 6 months following spousal loss. It also examined the extent to which the effects of social contact are contingent upon the degree of emotional support received from these relationships and the congruence between preferred and actual levels of social contact. Data was taken from the Changing Lives of Older Couples study, a prospective study of 1532 married men and women aged 65 or older. The participants were 209 widowed persons who were interviewed both at baseline and at 6 months after spousal death. Depressive and grief symptoms were regressed on social contact, support, and congruence between preferred and actual social contact. The results found that frequency of contact did not have a significant influence on psychological distress when contextual factors are controlled. Social support and the incongruence between preferred and actual social contact were significantly associated with decreased psychological distress. Those who had high social contact and high social support experienced less anger and fewer intrusive thoughts, and those who had low social contact but preferred high social contact experienced greater anger. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the quality of widowed persons' relationships as well as the congruence between their preferred and actual social contact.
The effects of positive and negative support from children on widowed older adults’ psychological adjustment: a longitudinal analysis
- Author:
- HA Jung-Hwa
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 50(4), August 2010, pp.471-481.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This paper investigated the extent to which positive and negative support from children before and after spousal loss, and changes in support from pre- to post-loss, affect widowed older adults’ depressive symptoms, anxiety, and anger 18 months following widowhood. Data are based on a prospective study of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 years and older. The sample includes 148 widowed persons with at least one living child and who participated in the baseline and two follow-up interviews conducted 6 and 18 months following widowhood. The findings indicated that higher levels of positive support from children 6 months following widowhood were associated with fewer depressive symptoms at the 18-month follow-up, whereas higher levels of negative support 18 months after loss and a decrease in positive support following loss were associated with more depressive symptoms. Greater negative support both before and after loss was associated with greater anxiety, whereas greater negative support 6 months after loss and an increase in negative support following loss were related to greater anger. The author concluded that both positive and negative aspects of social support, as well as its changing nature, should be considered in working with bereaved older adults.