The role of goal and meaning in life for older adults facing interpersonal stress

Interpersonal stressful events (ISE) have been shown to be potent predictors of major depressive symptoms among older adults. This study examines the relationships between recent ISE and depressive symptoms in late life and explores whether having coping cognitive resource (e.g. finding meaning and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aging & mental health 2022, Vol.26 (1), p.149-158
Main Authors: Lee, Jeong Eun, Kahana, Eva, Kahana, Boaz, Zarit, Steve
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adults
Aged
Community involvement
Coping
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major
depressive symptoms
Geriatric psychiatry
goal in life
Goals
Humans
Interpersonal stressful events
Life Change Events
Life goals
Life satisfaction
Meaning
meaning in life
Mental depression
Objectives
older adults
Older people
Retirement communities
Stressful events
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Summary:Interpersonal stressful events (ISE) have been shown to be potent predictors of major depressive symptoms among older adults. This study examines the relationships between recent ISE and depressive symptoms in late life and explores whether having coping cognitive resource (e.g. finding meaning and goal in life) can buffer the effects of ISE on depressive symptoms for older adults. We utilized a sample of residents in Florida retirement communities (N = 588) who participated in a long-term-panel study using yearly assessments for six years. Additionally, we modeled within-person differences in ISE and depressive symptoms simultaneously with multilevel modeling. Then, we tested the moderating effect of coping resource (i.e. meaning in life and goal in life) in the association between ISE and depressive symptoms. We found that the mean level of ISE is associated with higher depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction. In addition, higher levels of within-person meaning and goal buffered the negative effect of ISE on depressive symptoms for older adults. Similarly, within-person meaning and goal also attenuated the negative effect of ISE on life satisfaction.
ISSN:1360-7863
1364-6915
DOI:10.1080/13607863.2020.1849020