Effects of physical and mental health factors and family function on the self-perception of aging in the elderly of Chinese community.

BACKGROUND

To examine the effects of physical and mental health factors and family functioning on the self-perception of ageing in elderly people.

METHODS

A random cluster sampling method was used to select elderly people aged over 60 from three communities in Handan City. Subjects were evaluated via face-to-face interviews using the Chinese version of the Ageing Perception Questionnaire, the Family Function Scale, the SF-36 Short-Form Health Survey, and a self-compiled general questionnaire. A single factor and stepwise multiple regression analysis were evaluated using SPSS 17.0 software.

RESULTS

Among the 1815 elderly people surveyed, the total negative dimension score was 91.67 ± 16.58 with an index of 73.34%, which is higher than the positive dimension score (6.01 ± 0.52, 60.10%). Elderly people with varying degrees of family dysfunction accounted for 11.63%, and the score for self-perceived ageing in elderly participants with good family function was 95.74 ± 12.63. The proportions with poor physical and mental health factors were 45.40% and 28.10%, respectively, and the scores for ageing self-perception in elderly participants with good or moderate mental health were 89.11 ± 12.65 and 86.22 ± 12.58, respectively. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that age, presence of a spouse, and family function were positive protective factors for ageing self-perception, while physical health factors were risk factors for the positive dimension of self-perceived ageing. Age and family function were risk factors for the negative dimension of ageing self-perception, while physical and mental health factors were protective factors for the negative dimension of self-perceived ageing.

CONCLUSIONS

Younger elderly and elderly people with good family function have positive self-perceptions of ageing, while elderly participants with poor physical and mental health have a negative perception of ageing.