Association between Loneliness and Depression among Community-Dwelling Older Women Living Alone in South Korea: The Mediating Effects of Subjective Physical Health, Resilience, and Social Support

Young Mi Lim, Juha Baek, Sungmin Lee and Jung Sug Kim
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Young Mi Lim: Department of Nursing, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju 26426, Korea
Juha Baek: Department of Health Care Policy Research, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Sejong-si 30146, Korea
Sungmin Lee: Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Jung Sug Kim: Department of Nursing, Yeoju Institute of Technology, Yeoju 12652, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: Social isolation and loneliness are the key risk factors for depression in late life. Older adults living alone and socially isolated are at greater risk for physical and mental health. This study aims to examine the mediating effects of subjective physical health, resilience, and social support on the association between loneliness and depression among the elderly female population living alone in South Korea. We included a total of 308 older women aged 60 years or older who live alone in a medium-sized city in South Korea. The survey data was collected using the validated survey instruments between November 2015 and April 2016. A parallel mediation model was performed to investigate whether physical health, resilience, and social support had mediating effects on the association of loneliness with depression. The findings of this study showed that loneliness was directly and indirectly associated with depression through its association with the subjective physical health, resilience, and social support among the older female population living alone. Our results suggest the importance of supporting community-based programs to improve physical and mental health of the elderly people as a way to minimize the level of loneliness and prevent depression.

Keywords: older adults living alone; physical health; resilience; social support; loneliness; depression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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