How Does Perceived Health Status Affect Depression in Older Adults? Roles of Attitude toward Aging and Social Support

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study aims to test the mediating effect of attitude toward aging and the moderating effect of social support in the association between perceived health status and depression in older adults. Methods: The study hypotheses were tested by using quantitative data collected from 6485 Chinese older adults. SPSS macro PROCESS was employed to analyze the data. Results: The results show that the relationship between perceived health status and depression in older adults is mediated by their attitude toward aging. In addition, both direct and indirect impacts of perceived health status on depression are significantly buffered by social support. Conclusions: This study suggests a potential mediating role of attitude toward aging and a moderating role of social support in the association between physical health and mental health among older adults. Clinical Implications: The findings of the study suggest that clinicians might need to consider attitudes toward aging along with social support as they work with older adults with comorbid physical illnesses and depression. The findings also reveal that social support is not only about the external resources that older adults need to cope with stressful life events, but also serves as an inner sustenance to make older adults less sensitive to the deleterious effects of poor health status and negative attitude toward aging.