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Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time

Social support functions as an effective buffer against depression, especially among older adults with limited social networks. For the current study, we examined longitudinal bidirectional associations between social support and depression among those 75+ years of age. We recruited and followed a s...

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Autores principales: Turner, Shira T., Carmel, Sara, O’Rourke, Norm, Raveis, Victoria H., Tovel, Hava, Cohn-Schwartz, Ella
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9738391/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36498138
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316065
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author Turner, Shira T.
Carmel, Sara
O’Rourke, Norm
Raveis, Victoria H.
Tovel, Hava
Cohn-Schwartz, Ella
author_facet Turner, Shira T.
Carmel, Sara
O’Rourke, Norm
Raveis, Victoria H.
Tovel, Hava
Cohn-Schwartz, Ella
author_sort Turner, Shira T.
collection PubMed
description Social support functions as an effective buffer against depression, especially among older adults with limited social networks. For the current study, we examined longitudinal bidirectional associations between social support and depression among those 75+ years of age. We recruited and followed a sample of Israeli adults 75+ years of age (N = 824; M = 80.84; range 75–96 years). Structured interviews were conducted in the homes of participants at three annual points of measurement. Participants reported depressive symptoms and emotional and instrumental support received from friends and family. We examined a cross-lagged, longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) in which social support and depressive symptoms predict each other over time, covarying for previously reported social support and depressive symptoms. We found that both depressive symptoms and social support are largely consistent in late life. Depressive symptoms and social support reported at baseline predict levels reported 1 and 2 years thereafter. Cross-over effects emerged over time. Depressive symptoms predicted lower social support in future, and social support at baseline predicted depressive symptoms 2 years later. These findings suggest that associations between depressive symptoms and social support are bidirectional in late life. Further research is needed to replicate findings in other cultures and over longer periods, ideally until end of life.
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spelling pubmed-97383912022-12-11 Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time Turner, Shira T. Carmel, Sara O’Rourke, Norm Raveis, Victoria H. Tovel, Hava Cohn-Schwartz, Ella Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Social support functions as an effective buffer against depression, especially among older adults with limited social networks. For the current study, we examined longitudinal bidirectional associations between social support and depression among those 75+ years of age. We recruited and followed a sample of Israeli adults 75+ years of age (N = 824; M = 80.84; range 75–96 years). Structured interviews were conducted in the homes of participants at three annual points of measurement. Participants reported depressive symptoms and emotional and instrumental support received from friends and family. We examined a cross-lagged, longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) in which social support and depressive symptoms predict each other over time, covarying for previously reported social support and depressive symptoms. We found that both depressive symptoms and social support are largely consistent in late life. Depressive symptoms and social support reported at baseline predict levels reported 1 and 2 years thereafter. Cross-over effects emerged over time. Depressive symptoms predicted lower social support in future, and social support at baseline predicted depressive symptoms 2 years later. These findings suggest that associations between depressive symptoms and social support are bidirectional in late life. Further research is needed to replicate findings in other cultures and over longer periods, ideally until end of life. MDPI 2022-11-30 /pmc/articles/PMC9738391/ /pubmed/36498138 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316065 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Turner, Shira T.
Carmel, Sara
O’Rourke, Norm
Raveis, Victoria H.
Tovel, Hava
Cohn-Schwartz, Ella
Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time
title Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time
title_full Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time
title_fullStr Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time
title_full_unstemmed Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time
title_short Social Support and Symptoms of Depression in Late Life: Bidirectional Associations over Time
title_sort social support and symptoms of depression in late life: bidirectional associations over time
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9738391/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36498138
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316065
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