Department of Sociology, DePaul University, 990 West Fullerton Avenue, Suite 1100, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2011 May;66(3):364-73. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbr015. Epub 2011 Mar 14.
We examine 4 potential explanations for the lower quality of life reported by older adults with greater visual impairment.
Using 2 waves of data from a nationally representative sample of older persons (a subsample of the Americans' Changing Lives Study, 1986 and 1989), we run residual change regression analysis to assess the extent to which the effect of visual impairment on quality of life, indicated by depressive symptoms and life satisfaction, is explained by changes in each of the following: (1) activity limitations; (2) socioeconomic resources, measured as income and financial strain; (3) social resources, indicated by social integration and perceived support; and (4) psychological resources, measured by self-efficacy.
Higher levels of visual impairment are associated with more depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction over the 3-year period. Each hypothesized mediator plays a role in explaining the effect of visual impairment on declines in quality of life; however, the strongest mediating effects are found for self-efficacy.
By identifying multiple pathways through which visual impairment diminishes quality of life among older adults, this study highlights the importance of multipronged intervention efforts.
我们探讨了导致视力障碍老年人生活质量较低的 4 种潜在原因。
我们使用来自全国代表性老年人样本（美国人生活变化研究的一个子样本，1986 年和 1989 年）的 2 波数据，进行残差变化回归分析，以评估视力障碍对生活质量（由抑郁症状和生活满意度表示）的影响程度，这可以通过以下每一项的变化来解释：（1）活动受限；（2）社会经济资源，以收入和经济压力衡量；（3）社会资源，由社会融合和感知支持表示；以及（4）心理资源，用自我效能衡量。
在 3 年期间，较高水平的视力障碍与更多的抑郁症状和较低的生活满意度相关。每个假设的中介因素都在解释视力障碍对生活质量下降的影响方面发挥作用；然而，自我效能的中介作用最强。
本研究通过确定视力障碍降低老年人生活质量的多种途径，强调了多管齐下的干预措施的重要性。
