Vanderhorst R K, McLaren S
School of Behavioural & Social Sciences & Humanities, University of Ballarat, Mt. Helen, Victoria, Australia.
Aging Ment Health. 2005 Nov;9(6):517-25. doi: 10.1080/13607860500193062.
The prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation among older adults is considered to be a major mental health concern among this age group. The present study investigated the human relatedness variables of marital status, social support resources and sense of belonging as predictors of depression and suicidal ideation in older adults. A community sample of 110 older adults (M age 76.67 years, SD = 8.11) completed the Social Support Subscale of the Coping Resources Inventory, the Sense of Belonging Instrument, the Zung Depression Inventory and the Suicide Subscale of the General Health Questionnaire. Results indicated that fewer social support resources were associated with higher levels of depression and suicidal ideation. Sense of belonging to the community was not an additional predictor of mental health. The results of the present study suggest that enhancing social support resources in older adults could reduce depression and suicidal ideation.
老年人中抑郁症和自杀意念的患病率被认为是该年龄组主要的心理健康问题。本研究调查了婚姻状况、社会支持资源和归属感等与人际关系相关的变量，作为老年人抑郁症和自杀意念的预测因素。一个由110名老年人组成的社区样本（平均年龄76.67岁，标准差=8.11）完成了应对资源量表的社会支持分量表、归属感量表、zung抑郁量表和一般健康问卷的自杀分量表。结果表明，较少的社会支持资源与较高水平的抑郁和自杀意念相关。社区归属感并不是心理健康的额外预测因素。本研究结果表明，增强老年人的社会支持资源可以减少抑郁和自杀意念。
