BERTHA Big Data Centre for Environment and Health, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room E208, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2020 Jul-Aug;89:104045. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104045. Epub 2020 Mar 28.
Evidence from existing studies suggests social capital has mixed effects on depression and other common mental disorders. There is little knowledge of the possible association between social capital and depression among the growing older population in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the effect of cognitive social capital (trust and sense of safety) and structural social capital (social participation or engagement in social activities) on depression among older adults in Ghana. Utilizing multilevel mixed-effect analysis, we investigate the effect of individual-level and neighborhood-level social capital (cognitive and structural) on depression using data from the World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (WHO-SAGE) survey (Wave 1). The findings show that at an individual level, older adults who felt safe at home were less likely to have depression. We observed mixed results for elements of structural social capital at the individual level. Older adults who frequently engaged in club or group meetings, worked with neighbors and engaged in social outings were more likely to have depression; while attending public meetings and socializing with co-workers were associated with reduced likelihood of having depression. At the neighborhood level, increased trust in neighbors was associated with an increased likelihood of having depression (OR = 1.01, p < 0.05) while higher levels of neighborhood safety and structural social capital were associated with a reduced likelihood of having depression. The findings suggest that the differential associations between elements of social capital and depression may be the result of contextual factors.
现有研究证据表明，社会资本对抑郁和其他常见精神障碍的影响具有双重性。在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，人们对不断增长的老年人群体中社会资本与抑郁之间可能存在的关联知之甚少。本研究调查了认知社会资本（信任和安全感）和结构社会资本（社会参与或参与社会活动）对加纳老年人抑郁的影响。本研究利用多水平混合效应分析，利用世界卫生组织全球老龄化和成人健康研究（WHO-SAGE）调查（第 1 波）的数据，调查了个体层面和邻里层面社会资本（认知和结构）对抑郁的影响。研究结果表明，在个体层面上，在家中感到安全的老年人患抑郁症的可能性较小。我们对个体层面结构社会资本的各个要素观察到了混合结果。经常参加俱乐部或团体会议、与邻居一起工作和外出社交的老年人更有可能患有抑郁症；而参加公共会议和与同事社交则与降低患抑郁症的可能性相关。在邻里层面，对邻居的信任度增加与患抑郁症的可能性增加有关（OR=1.01，p<0.05），而邻里安全和结构社会资本水平较高与患抑郁症的可能性降低有关。研究结果表明，社会资本要素与抑郁之间的不同关联可能是由于背景因素造成的。
