Walsh Sarah E, LaJoie A Scott
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, USA.
University of Louisville, KY, USA.
Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2018 Aug 24;4:2333721418795900. doi: 10.1177/2333721418795900. eCollection 2018 Jan-Dec.
Prior research has shown social capital and built environment quality are associated with overall health status and the incidence of mental illness. This study explores the relationship between social capital, built environment, and quality of life specifically for assisted living residents, currently a gap in the literature. A total of 76 assisted living residents were interviewed for the study using researcher-administered questionnaires. In addition, site audits were conducted to quantitatively evaluate the built environment surrounding 12 assisted living communities in the Louisville Metro region. There was a moderate, positive correlation between social capital and mental health, = .473, < .001. Built environment quality for the neighborhood immediately surrounding the assisted living community was not significantly correlated with quality of life for assisted living residents. Other population characteristics, including demographic characteristics, self-rated health status, and instrumental activities of daily living were not significantly predictive of mental health scores. This study demonstrates that social capital is associated with happiness and self-rated quality of life. Specifically, increased social capital is associated with increased mental well-being for older adults residing in assisted living communities, with social capital explaining about 20% of the variation in quality of life scores.
先前的研究表明，社会资本和建成环境质量与总体健康状况及精神疾病发病率相关。本研究专门探讨了社会资本、建成环境与辅助生活居民生活质量之间的关系，目前这在文献中还是一个空白。本研究使用研究人员管理的问卷对76名辅助生活居民进行了访谈。此外，还进行了实地审计，以定量评估路易斯维尔都会区12个辅助生活社区周边的建成环境。社会资本与心理健康之间存在中度正相关，r = 0.473，p < 0.001。辅助生活社区紧邻街区的建成环境质量与辅助生活居民的生活质量无显著相关性。其他人口特征，包括人口统计学特征、自评健康状况和日常生活工具性活动，对心理健康得分无显著预测作用。本研究表明，社会资本与幸福感和自评生活质量相关。具体而言，社会资本增加与居住在辅助生活社区的老年人心理健康状况改善相关，社会资本解释了生活质量得分约20%的变异。
