Social participation reduces depressive symptoms among older adults: An 18-year longitudinal analysis in Taiwan

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Li-Jen Weng¹  Chi Chiao²  Amanda L Botticello³ 

[1] Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China;Insitute of Health and Welfare Policy, Research Center for Health and Welfare Policy, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, China;Kessler Foundation Research Center & Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, USA;

关键词: Depressive symptoms;    Social participation;    Older adults;    Growth curve modeling;    Taiwan;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-292

 received in 2010-10-20, accepted in 2011-05-10,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRelatively little empirical attention has focused on the association between social participation and depressive symptoms amongst older adults in Asian nations, where persons over the age of 65 represent a rapidly growing segment of the population. This study explores the dynamic relationship between participation in social activities and trajectories of depressive symptomatology among older Taiwanese adults surveyed over 18 years.MethodsData are from a nationally representative sample of 1,388 adults aged 60-64 first surveyed in 1989 and followed over an 18-year time period for a total of six waves. Individual involvement in social activities was categorized into continuous participation, ceased participation before age 70, initiating participation in older adulthood, never participated, and dropped out before age 70. Two domains of depressive symptoms--negative affect and lack of positive affect--were measured using a 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale.ResultsAnalyses using growth curve modeling showed that continuously participating or initiating participation in social activities later life is significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms among older Taiwanese adults, even after controlling for the confounding effects of aging, individual demographic differences, and health status.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that maintaining or initiating social participation in later life benefits the mental health of older adults. Facilitating social activities among older adults is a promising direction for programs intended to promote mental health and successful aging among older adults in Taiwan.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Chiao et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011