Associations of the related factors of depression, social support and social participation in kyungro-dang among older adults in South Korea: A structural equation modelling analysis.
Hocheol Lee, Seokjun Moon, Geurum Song and 1 others
PMID 33570295WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults in rural South Korea with higher social support and social participation used senior centres less often.
Those with lower support and participation used them more, suggesting these facilities serve isolated individuals rather than the socially active.
Key findings
01Social participation had a significant negative association with using senior centres (kyungro-dang), meaning those with higher participation scores used them less.
02Social support also had a significant negative indirect association with senior centre use, indicating those with higher support used these facilities less frequently.
03Depression was negatively correlated with both social support and social participation, while social support and participation were positively correlated with each other.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was drawn from a single farming village, limiting generalisability to urban or national populations. The sex ratio was unbalanced (70.5% women), which may affect the applicability of findings to men. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality; it only identifies associations. Participants with communication difficulties due to physical or mental diseases were excluded, potentially omitting the most impaired older adults.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that senior centre attendance indicates good social health. This study suggests the opposite: those who attend these centres often have lower social support and participation, making them a high-risk group for depression rather than a socially integrated group.