Assessing the relative contribution of social exclusion, income-poverty, and financial strain on depressive symptoms among older people in Hong Kong

Siu Yau Lee*, Kee Lee Chou

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: The role of social exclusion in depressive symptoms in older people has not been examined systematically. This study examines the associations of social exclusion, income poverty, and financial strain with depressive symptoms and evaluates the moderating effect of social support in the link between social exclusion and depressive symptoms.

Method: Our sample consisted of 850 older people (65 years old or above) in Hong Kong randomly selected through a household survey. We used a logistic regression to evaluate the associations of social exclusion, income poverty, and financial strain with depressive symptoms, controlling for social support and social network variables, health indicators, and socio-demographic variables. 

Results: We found that social exclusion, income poverty, and financial strain are positively associated with depressive symptoms, but only social exclusion (OR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.51–2.99, p < 0.001) and financial strain (OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.16–2.03, p < 0.01) maintain their significance after all other covariates are adjusted. Moreover, perceived social support negatively moderates the relationship between social exclusion and depressive symptoms.

Conclusion: Social exclusion is significantly associated with depressive symptoms in older people, but this association can be moderated by social support.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1487-1495
Number of pages9
JournalAging and Mental Health
Volume23
Issue number11
Early online date9 Nov 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Nov 2019
Externally publishedYes

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Psychiatric Mental Health
  • Gerontology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

User-Defined Keywords

  • Chinese
  • depressive symptoms
  • income poverty
  • Social exclusion

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