Depressive symptoms in elderly people participating in University of the Third Age and residents of Nursing Homes: the role of optimism and acceptance of passing

Adrian Kabat,Adrianna Krzywik,Iwona Nowakowska,Edyta Idczak-Paceś

doi:10.17583/rasp.2021.5782

Abstract

The elderly age group needs particular support in preventing development of depressive symptoms, among others, due to the prospect of passing. This group is heterogenous in terms of characteristics of ways of spending leisure time, which, as an important aspect of everyday life affecting the quality of interpersonal relationships and well-being, might be related to the level of their depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to find out whether participation in University of Third Age (UTA; leisure time spending directed at personal development) activities versus being a Nursing Home resident (NH; leisure time spending, directed at compensation of difficulties associated to the aging process) may differentiate elderly people in terms of the level of depression taking into account their optimism and acceptance of passing. The study was paper-pencil questionnaire-based, conducted on a sample of people above the age of 59: participants of UTA (N=48) and NH (N=54). In the UTA group, consistently for all levels of acceptance of passing, the higher the level of optimism, the lower the depressive symptoms. However, for the NH group, the higher the acceptance of passing, the lower the role of optimism in predicting depressive symptoms.

Highlights

The elderly age group needs particular support in preventing development of depressive symptoms, among others, due to the prospect of passing
Awareness of passing and the ending of life has an impact on increasingly frequent thoughts about one’s own and one’s loved ones’ upcoming death, which can contribute to a person's sense of quality of life, fear of death and depression
A moderated moderation model was tested with general depression as an outcome variable, with optimism as the focal predictor and acceptance of passing and participation in the abovementioned University of Third Age (UTA) versus Nursing Home resident (NH) groups as moderators

Summary

Introduction

The elderly age group needs particular support in preventing development of depressive symptoms, among others, due to the prospect of passing. The prospect of death becomes increasingly clear in old age In this developmental period people imagine the scenarios of passing and take stock of their life, and the results of these summarizations might be associated with positive or negative feelings (Deręgowska, 2014). A person at this developmental stage often strives to consolidate and accept own life, all failures and successes as well as determines their own life’s purpose and sense Dealing with this crisis means that one will achieve a sense of internal harmony and a belief in the sense and purposefulness of life, which allows one to calmly prepare for its end. Depressed mood is independent of current events, does not change much in subsequent days, and may be

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Conclusion