Search

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social support to depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. The participants were 811 elderly residents of a rural community in Okinawa (male 315, female 496), aged 65 and older (mean 74.3). The score of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was significantly higher for females and old-old (over 75). In life satisfaction (LSIK), no difference was found by gender and age group. Males had higher tangible support than females, and young-old (from 65 to 74) had more reciprocal support than old-old. The total score of social support was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms, and positively correlated with life satisfaction. Also, sub-scales were significantly correlated with GDS and LSIK. The finding suggest that social support is a very important factor to maintain psychological well-being and life satisfaction in latter life., 論文 more...