Citation

Fu M, Guo J, Zhang Q. J. Health Psychol. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/13591053221124374

PMID

36124750

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought social, health-related, and financial risks to older adults, yet their associations with depressive symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) were not systematically examined. With 3504 respondents aged 60 and over from Health and Retirement Survey, this study found pandemic-related healthcare delay and financial hardship associated with elevated depressive symptoms and decreased PTG, whereas social disruption predicted greater PTG. When confronted with multidimensional difficulties, a higher level of social support buffered depressive symptoms and enhanced PTG following healthcare delay, while those from immediate family members carried the weighing of moderation. Additionally, the moderation effect varied between support types, as exclusive instrumental support engendered more depressive symptoms and squeezed PTG by stimulating a sense of incompetence for older adults. Inversely, receiving both instrumental and emotional support helped individuals of older age against financial-related depressive symptoms. These findings shed light on older adults' mental health promotion in a pandemic context.

Language: en

Keywords

older adults; depressive symptoms; social support; posttraumatic growth; pandemic-related difficulties