Effects of protective factors on the depressive status of elderly people in Taiwan.

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the effect of protective factors on the relationship between crisis episodes and depression in the elderly population in Taiwan.In this study, the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging was used as basis for a cross-sectional secondary data analysis. After eliminating respondents below the age of 65 years and those with missing values, 2426 samples were collected. Predictive variables, such as crisis episodes, personal resources, family ties, social participation, and social support, were investigated, and the dependent variable of “depression status” was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.According to the results of regression analysis, the protective factors of self-assessed health (ß = −0.290, P < .001), instrumental support (ß = −0.153, P < .001), financial satisfaction (ß = −0.126, P < .001), emotional support (ß = −0.101, P < .001), crisis episodes (ß = 0.087, P < .001), support satisfaction (ß = −0.081, P < .001), leisure participation (ß = −0.053, P < .05), family ties (ß = −0.048, P < .05), and community participation (ß = −0.042, P < .05) had a significant effect on depression status. Moreover, leisure participation had a moderating effect on the relationship between crisis episodes and depression (ß = −0.07, P < .01). In addition, according to path analysis results, family ties had a significant negative predictive power on depression (β = −0.225, P < .001), as did social support (β = −0.978, P < .001). The predictive power of crisis episodes on depression through social support was 0.197 (−0.201 × −0.978 = 0.197, P < .001), and it was −0.324 (−0.331 × −0.978 = −0.324, P < .001) through social participation, which indicated that social support plays a mediating role between crisis episodes and depression and between social participation and depression.Strengthening effective protective factors can improve the resilience of elderly people and enable them to cope with dilemmas rapidly and effectively when faced with crisis episodes as well as restore their health status and enjoy a satisfactory life.