An emotional support model in aging families
Linking interaction patterns to positive mental health through social activity engagement and aging attitudes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22069500 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jianqian Wu (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Yixuan Li (0009-0004-6861-0654, Xi'an Polytechnic University), Qiuling Chao (Xi'an Jiaotong University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Pages | 1531110-1531110 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-08 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1531110 |
| PMID | 40265055 |
| OpenAlex | W4409275227 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 34 |
Objectives: Family emotional interactions can be both supportive and detrimental, and their impact on positive mental health remains unclear. The study aimed to investigate the association and underlying mechanisms between family emotional interaction and positive mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,200 older adults from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces in China. Data were collected via a questionnaire package assessing older adults' positive mental health, family emotional interaction, social activity engagement, and attitudes toward aging. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and path analysis. Results: Social activity engagement, psychological growth, physiological change, and emotional support were positively associated with positive mental health, and negative interaction was negatively associated with positive mental health. Emotional support was the main effect of promoting positive mental health among older adults. Social activity engagement and positive attitudes toward aging mediated the association between emotional support and positive mental health. Conclusion: This study presented an emotional support model among older adults. Being emotionally supported by families and actively engaging in social activities positively affects older adults' self-perceptions and promotes positive mental health, which are essential strategies for older adults to cope with potential stressors in later life. These findings advocate integrating family-centered interventions within gerontological practice to optimize emotional support across aging trajectories
Developmental psychology · Mental health · Psychiatry · Social support · Aging and Gerontology Research · Clinical Psychology · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Social Psychology
Advances in testing the statistical significance of mediation effects.
Generalized Network Psychometrics
The Relative Importance of Three Domains of Positive and Negative Social Exchanges
Evaluating the psychometric properties of the mental health Continuum‐Short Form (MHC‐SF)
Structural Equation Models of Latent Interactions
Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis
Self-determination theory
Self-Perception Theory
Frailty and suicidal ideation among older adults living alone in the community
Perceived family relationships and social participation through sports of urban older adults living alone
Multiple influences on participating in physical activity in older age
The Convoy Model and Later‐Life Family Relationships
Exploring the Reciprocal Associations of Perceptions of Aging and Social Involvement
Social Relationships and Salivary Telomere Length Among Middle-Aged and Older African American and White Adults
Negative Interaction in Late Life
Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People
Influence of social relationship domains and their combinations on incident dementia
The Convoy Model
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |