Support in times of need

How depressive symptoms can impact receipt of social support among aging adults in rural South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID15742185
AuthorsElyse A Jennings (0000-0002-2373-2138, corresponding author), Margaret Ralston (0000-0003-0238-3001, Mississippi State University), Enid Schatz (0000-0003-3963-2745, Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System)
Year2020
Volume12
Pages100666-100666
Publication date2020-09-10
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSSM - Population Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-8273 • E-ISSN: 2352-8273
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100666
PMID33072842
OpenAlexW3083830700
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited58

The relationship between mental health and receipt of social support is not well understood in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we focus on a cohort of older adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between mental health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which marital status modifies these associations. We use baseline data from a population-based study, Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), conducted between 2014 and 2015. Our results suggest that men and women who report depressive symptoms are less likely to receive social support: women are less likely to receive emotional and financial support, and men are less likely to receive physical and financial support. Both men and women who are married or partnered are more likely to receive social support than their non-married counterparts. The association between depressive symptomology and receipt of social support differs for women who are separated/divorced and for men who are widowed. Specifically, the association between having depressive symptoms and receiving physical or financial support is more positive for separated/divorced women than their married/cohabiting counterparts; for men, the association between having depressive symptoms and receiving physical support is more positive for widowed men than their married/cohabiting counterparts. Our findings speak to the complicated associations between social support, marriage and mental health in later life and the different experiences that men and women may have

Cohort · Depression (economics · Environmental health · Longitudinal study · Marital status · Mental health · Population · Psychiatry · Receipt · Social support · Demography · Employment and Welfare Studies · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology

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