Investigating the Mediating Role of Depression in the Relationship Between Loneliness and Social Functioning of the Elderly in Bushehr

Introduction: Due to the rapid growth of the elderly population, it is very important to pay attention to their mental health indicators. loneliness, social functions and depression are among these indices. The aim of this study was to determine the mediating role of depression in the relationship between loneliness and social functioning of the elderly in 2019. Method: In this cross-sectional correlational study, 318 elderly people covered by comprehensive health centers in Bushehr using simple random sampling. The Russell Loneliness Questionnaire )UCLA( and the Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Depression and Social functions Areas) were used to collect data. We utilized the partial least squares-Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data and tested the model using the partial least squares (PLS)-Graph 3.00 software. Significance level was considered equal in all cases - less than 0.05. Results: The mean age of the participants in this study was 66.74 ± 5.87 and 55.3% of the participants were male and the rest were female. The results showed that Loneliness both directly (p <0.01 and β = 0.199) and mediated by depression (p <0.001 and β = 0.183) can lead to poor social functions. Loneliness and depression together explained 20% of the variance in social dysfunctions. The outer and inner model fit indices indicated the model suitability. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, Loneliness both directly and by causing depression in the individual can reduce the social functioning of the elderly. It is useful to use these results to design interventions that are as effective as possible in order to increase the social functions of the elderly.