Moderators of the Association Between Contact Frequency With Non-Cohabitating Adult Children and Depressive Symptoms Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

OBJECTIVE: Contact frequency with adult children plays a critical role in late-life depression. However, evidence on possible moderators of this association remains limited. Moreover, considering alterations in contact modes after the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic, there is a need to investigate this association post-pandemic to develop effective therapeutic interventions. METHODS: This study included 7,573 older adults who completed the Living Profiles of the Older People Survey in Korea. Participants’ contact frequency and depressive symptoms were analyzed. Regression analysis was performed after adjusting for covariates. The moderating effects of variables were verified using a process macro. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that infrequent face-to-face (odd ratio [OR]=1.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.55–2.22) and non-face-to-face contact (OR=1.23, 95% CI=1.04–1.45) in the non-cohabitating adult children group was associated with a higher risk of late-life depression compared to that in the frequent contact group. Linear regression analysis indicated consistent results for face-to-face and non-face-to-face contact (estimate=0.458, standard error [SE]=0.090, p<0.001 and estimate=0.236, SE=0.074, p=0.001, respectively). Moderation analysis revealed that the association between late-life depression and frequency of face-to-face contact was moderated by age, household income quartiles, number of chronic diseases, physical activity frequency, presence of spouse, nutritional status, and whether the effect of frequency of non-face-to-face contact on late-life depression was increased by participation in social activity, frequent physical activity, and good cognitive function (p for interaction<0.05). CONCLUSION: Frequent contact with non-cohabitating children lowers the risk of depression later in life. Several variables were identified as significant moderators of contact frequency and depression symptoms.