Engaging in pleasant events explains the relation between physical disability and mental health outcomes in older adults

Abstract

Objectives This study expands the body of research examining mediators of the association between physical disability and mental health outcomes. Based on the behavioral model of depression, frequency of pleasant events were examined as a mediator between physical disability and mental health outcomes including depressive symptoms, meaning in life, and positive affect. We predicted that physical disability would have a significant indirect effect on mental health outcomes through the lower frequency of pleasant events. Methods Cross-sectional study of 82 community-dwelling adults, M age = 77.6, SD = 8.0, 64.6% female, was conducted. Self-report instruments measured frequency of pleasant events, physical disability, and mental health outcomes (depression symptoms, positive affect, and meaning in life). Results Simple mediation analyses demonstrated a significant indirect effect of physical disability on depressive symptoms (unstandardized coefficient = 0.16, 95% bias-corrected CI 0.03, 0.41), positive affect (unstandardized coefficient = −2.65, 95% bias-corrected CI −5.38, −0.88), and meaning in life (unstandardized coefficient = −1.58, 95% bias-corrected CI −3.19, −0.47) through engagement in pleasant events. Conclusion Physical disability was associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower positive affect and meaning in life through reduced frequency of pleasant events. These findings are consistent with the behavioral model of depression and support several applied recommendations for reducing the burden of physical disability on mental health outcomes.