Association Between Perceived Social Support and Mental Health Status Among Older Adults

Introduction: The elderly need social support to reduce their physical and mental disabilities. Perceived social support is one of the effective factors in the lifestyle of older adults. Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between perceived social support and mental health status among older adults. Materials and Methods: This research is a cross-sectional analytical study. The study data were collected using a perceived social support (PSS) scale and general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). A total of 302 eligible older adults were selected through a random sampling method from primary health centers in the north, south, east, west, and center of Tehran. The inclusion criteria were those community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years and with normal cognitive abilities. The collected data were analyzed using t test, ANOVA, the Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regressions. Results: The mean ±SD age of older adults was 70.01 ±6.29 years. Their mean ±SD scores of the PSS and GHQ-12 were 130.95 ±16.05 and 7.29 ±5.55, respectively. The results showed no significant relationship between demographic variables and PSS. There was a significant inverse correlation between the PSS score and the GHQ-12 score (P= 0.01, r= -0.878). The PSS explained 0.66 of the total variances of “positively phrased items” of GHQ-12 (adjusted R2= 0.66) and 0.76 of the total variances of “negatively phrased items” of GHQ-12 (adjusted R2= 0.76). Conclusion: Our findings showed that the PSS and mental health are at a desirable level in this study, and the PSS is not affected by demographic variables. The PSS is a promoting factor for mental health status among older adults.