Association Between Perceived Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among Community-Dwelling Older Chinese Americans

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the association between social support and depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese older adults. Methods: Data were from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) study. Independent variables were positive and negative perceived social support (PSS). Dependent variable was depressive symptoms. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: A total of participants were 3,157 Chinese older adults with the mean age of 72.8 years (range 60-105 years). After controlling for confounding factors, Chinese older adults with higher positive PSS were 12% (odds ratio [OR] = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.85, 0.92]) and 18% (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = [0.79, 0.86]) less likely to report mild and moderate-severe depressive symptoms, respectively, compared to reporting minimal depressive symptoms; On the contrary, Chinese older adults with higher negative PSS were 34% (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = [1.24, 1.46]) and 38% (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = [1.26, 1.52]) more likely to report mild and moderate-severe depressive symptoms, respectively. Discussion: The study findings corroborate previous research that social support is significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Our findings reinforce the importance of developing strategies to utilize positive social support and limit negative support in practice for the depressed older adults. Further studies should be conducted to better understand the associations between different dimensions of social support and depression among U.S. Chinese older adults.

Association of Psychosocial Symptoms, Blood Pressure, and Menopausal Status in African-American Women

“…Many theories posits that having low social support is a risk factor for ill health and disease (Barth, Schneider, & von Kane, 2010). In contrast, previous research has shown that social support may buffer the effects of stress and depression in individuals with chronic illness (Chao, Katigbak, Zhang, & Dong, 2018;Liu, Hernandez, Trout, Kleiman, & Bozzay, 2017). Notably, a small number of research has documented the link between social support and improved BP, particularly in African-Americans (Bell, Thorpe, & Laveist, 2010;Coulon & Wilson, 2015).…”

Mediating effects of depressive symptoms on social support and quality of life among rural older Chinese

“…A meta-analysis illustrated that older adults with more social support had lower prevalence of depression [ 25 ]. Lack of social support and feelings of loneliness are believed to be risk factors for depression in the elderly [ 26 , 27 ] and perceived social support has been negatively associated with late-life depressive symptoms [ 28 ]. Also, living alone and decreased social participation and engagement reduce positive emotions of an older individual [ 29 – 31 ].…”

Achieving Health Equity in Asian Populations

“…Regarding psychological well-being, the included six articles detail the potential risk factors and impacts of psychological distress among global Chinese populations and challenge our assumptions about how individual and familial factors relate to psychological distress and well-being in immigrant populations. Specifically, different forms of psychological distress may have negative impacts of cognitive function ( Y. Chen, Wang, Liang, Sun, & Dong, 2018 ; Kong, Davitt, & Dong, 2018 ), but psychological distress may be buffered by individual, social, and familial resources for both Chinese in China and in the United States ( Chao, Zhang, & Dong, 2018 ; M. Li & Dong, 2018 ; Liu et al, 2018 ; Wang & Dong, 2018 ). In addition, articles in this issue examine how neighborhood and community may impact minority immigrant older adult populations.…”

“…Specifically, different forms of psychological distress may have negative impacts of cognitive function (Y. Chen, Wang, Liang, Sun, & Dong, 2018; Kong, Davitt, & Dong, 2018), but psychological distress may be buffered by individual, social, and familial resources for both Chinese in China and in the United States (Chao, Zhang, & Dong, 2018; M. Li & Dong, 2018; Liu et al, 2018; Wang & Dong, 2018).…”