Masuchi A, Kishi R
Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University.
Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi. 2001 Jun;48(6):435-48.
This paper reviews evidence concerning the relationship of social support and networks to psychological well-being in elderly people. Although few studies have used comparative concepts and featured measurements of social networks and social support, the overall findings are that depressive symptoms in elderly people are associated with (a) smaller size of social networks which are supportive, (b) lower emotional support which is anticipated or received, (c) lower instrumental support which is anticipated, and (d) not providing support to others, and that depressive symptoms are greater when the amount of received instrumental support is larger. There is evidence consistent with both direct effects of social networks and support on reducing depressive symptoms, and buffering effects to protect persons from adverse effects of stressful life events. In addition, physical health status, activities of daily living, income, and marital status are associated with depression among the elderly. A well-conducted longitudinal study is essential for research in this area in Japan.
本文综述了有关社会支持和社交网络与老年人心理健康之间关系的证据。尽管很少有研究使用比较概念并对社交网络和社会支持进行专门测量，但总体研究结果表明，老年人的抑郁症状与以下因素相关：（a）提供支持的社交网络规模较小；（b）预期或获得的情感支持较低；（c）预期的工具性支持较低；（d）不向他人提供支持，而且当获得的工具性支持较多时，抑郁症状会更严重。有证据表明，社交网络和支持对减轻抑郁症状既有直接影响，也有缓冲作用，可保护人们免受生活压力事件的不利影响。此外，身体健康状况、日常生活活动能力、收入和婚姻状况与老年人的抑郁症有关。在日本，开展一项精心设计的纵向研究对于该领域的研究至关重要。
