Life stressors and psychological well-being. Does Access to Health Care Help the Older Lebanese?

Health care should protect against the detrimental effects of stress on psychological well-being by providing both direct and indirect benefits. Using a sample of 490 older Lebanese (age 60 and over), this study examines whether access to and utilization of medical care buffer the impact of specific stressors on depressive symptoms. Findings show that access to medical care is associated with depressive symptoms for those who experienced recent death, serious accident and health-related stressors and that limited access increases depression for those exposed to recent violent stressors. The saliency of health-related events may be associated with health care access which is imposed under distressing contexts, likely worsening psychological well-being.