Social support mediates loneliness and depression in elderly people

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of loneliness on depression and further tested the mediating effect of social support. A total of 320 elderly persons completed the Emotional and Social Loneliness Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Self-Rating Depression Scale. Results revealed that loneliness and social support significantly correlated with depression. Structural Equation Modeling indicated that social support partially mediates loneliness and depression. The final model illustrated a significant path from loneliness to depression through social support. This study sheds light on the concurrent effects of loneliness and social support on depression, providing evidence on how to reduce depression among the elderly.

Internet Use in Young Adult Males: from the Perspective of Pursuing Well-Being

“…The self-determination theory, a macrotheory of human motivation, pointed out that the potential of social contexts to provide experiences that satisfy universal human needs (Przybylski et al 2010). BSocial support^is the basic need individuals have to be respected, understood, and encouraged as they move through life (Kessler et al 1985;L. Liu et al 2014).…”

Loneliness and depression among Chinese drug users: Mediating effect of resilience and moderating effect of gender

“…This implies that drug users with a higher level of loneliness are more likely to have depressive symptoms. Besides individuals with substance abuse, loneliness is commonly experienced by groups such as the elderly (Liu, Gou et al, ) and cancer survivors (Marroquín, Czamanski‐Cohen, Weihs, & Stanton, ). Individuals with high levels of loneliness experience higher levels of dissatisfaction with life and tend to develop more negative emotions, thus leading to more depressive symptoms (Hawkley & Cacioppo, ).…”

“…To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to explore the mediating role of resilience on the association between loneliness with depression in this specific population. Previous studies have pointed out that social support might act as a mediator of the correlation between loneliness and depression (Liu, Gou et al, ). However, the findings of the present study suggest an alternative pathway for the influence of loneliness on depression.…”

“…Loneliness is an undesirable psychological condition, which may result in a deep sense of worthlessness, emptiness, personal threat, and lack of control (Booth, ; Cacioppo & Patrick, ; Cacioppo et al, ; Weiss, ). Loneliness is distinct from solitude or aloneness, that is, an objective state of being alone or socially isolated (Cacioppo et al, ; Liu, Gou, & Zuo, ; Peplau & Perlman, ; Tillich, ). Previous studies have postulated that the association between loneliness and depression is reciprocal (Han & Richardson, ; Liu, Gou et al, ; Sahin, & Tan, ; Weeks, Michela, Peplau, & Bragg, ).…”

“…Loneliness is distinct from solitude or aloneness, that is, an objective state of being alone or socially isolated (Cacioppo et al, ; Liu, Gou, & Zuo, ; Peplau & Perlman, ; Tillich, ). Previous studies have postulated that the association between loneliness and depression is reciprocal (Han & Richardson, ; Liu, Gou et al, ; Sahin, & Tan, ; Weeks, Michela, Peplau, & Bragg, ). However, more recent studies, in particular longitudinal investigations, have shown that while loneliness generally predicts an increase in depressive symptoms, an increase in depressive symptoms does not necessarily predict loneliness (Cacioppo et al, ; Green et al, ; Heikkinen & Kauppinen, ; Luanaigh & Lawlor, ; Park et al, ).…”