Abstract
Psychological distress has been considered a key component in the psychosocial functioning and functional disability of the elderly, but the determining factors of social functioning and psychological distress in the elderly people are not yet fully known. The aim of this study is to perform a gender analysis of the relevance of psychological distress and psychosocial factors in the social functioning of the elderly. A cross-sectional study with a sample of 589 men and 684 women from the general Spanish population aged between 65 and 94 years was conducted. All participants were evaluated through questionnaires and scales that assess psychological distress, social functioning, stress, coping styles, self-esteem and social support. Results: Women scored higher than men in psychological distress, chronic stress, emotional coping and instrumental social support, whereas men scored higher than women in self-esteem and rational coping. Psychological distress was significantly associated in women and men with worse social functioning, which was also lower in older people and in women with lower self-esteem. Psychological distress has a considerable impact on the social functioning of the elderly, and gender is a relevant factor in the psychological distress experienced and its predictors.
Highlights
No statistically significant differences were found between women and men in social functioning, the number of life events experienced during the previous year, detachment/avoidance coping style, and emotional social support
It had been hypothesized that greater stress, greater psychological distress and greater age would be related to worse social functioning, the results have identified that stress did not have a direct significant role in the social functioning of older men and women; nor did emotion-focused coping styles, social support and the number of children
The second hypothesis predicted that greater stress would associate with greater psychological distress; the results found in this study support this hypothesis, regression analysis identified that chronic stress was no longer statistically associated to psychological distress when stress coping styles were included in the regression analysis
Summary
The proportion of people older than 59 years is growing faster than any other age group. This trend is evident in Spain, where the expectations about the proportion of people aged 60 and over are 31.4% by 2025 [1]. In the late 1990s, the World Health Organization adopted the term “active ageing”, which aims to extend peoples healthy life expectancy and quality of life during aging [1] and refers to “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age” In the late 1990s, the World Health Organization adopted the term “active ageing”, which aims to extend peoples healthy life expectancy and quality of life during aging [1] and refers to “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age” (p. 12)
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