Cognitive components of social capital and mental health status among older adults: A population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aims: To determine the associations between the cognitive aspects of social capital and mental health status in older adults. Methods: Data on older people (65 years of age or older, n = 1,102) were retrieved from a general population mental health survey conducted in Finland in 2008. The response rate was 61%. The associations between self-reported depression (measured by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form, CIDI-SF) or psychological distress (measured by the General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12) and perceived social support, sense of belonging, and trust were tested by logistic regression analyses. Results: For the cognitive social capital indicators, difficult access to help from neighbours showed a significant association with depression. Furthermore, not having people to count on, experiencing a lack of concern from other people, and feeling mistrust towards other people were all significantly associated with psychological distress. Conclusions: Links between mental health and cognitive social capital indicate that social support and trust may be important factors to consider when developing interventions to promote mental health and prevent mental disorders among older adults.

Keywords

Survey older adults depression psychological distress social support sense of belonging trust

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

World Health Organization. Global burden of disease. 2004 update . Geneva: WHO; 2008. Available at: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/projections/en/index.html (accessed March 2011).

Luijendijk HJ , van den Berg JF , Dekker MJ , van Tuijl HR , Otte W. , Smit F. , et al. Incidence and recurrence of late-life depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008;65:1394-401.

Copeland JR , Beekman AT , Braam AW , Dewey ME , Delespaul P. , Fuhrer R. , et al. Depression among older people in Europe: the EURODEP studies. World Psychiatry 2004 ;3:45-9.

Giannakouris K. Ageing characterises the demographic perspectives of the European societies. Statistics in focus - 72/ 2008. European Communities 2008. Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-08-072/EN/KS-SF-08-072-EN.PDF (accessed September 2010).

Jané-Llopis E , Gabilondo A , editors. Mental health in older people. Consensus paper. Luxembourg: European Communities; 2008. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/docs/consensus_older_en.pdf (accessed September 2010).

Bottomley C. , Nazareth I. , Torres-González F. , Svab I. , Maaroos H-I. , Geerlings MI , et al. Comparison of risk factors for the onset and maintenance of depression. Br J Psychiatr 2010;196:13-17.

Brown MN , Lapane KL , Luisi AF The management of depression in older nursing home residents. J Am Geriatr Soc 2002;50:69-76.

Teresi J. , Abrams R. , Holmes D. , Ramirez M. , Eimicke J. Prevalence of depression and depression recognition in nursing homes . Soc Psychiatr Psychiatr Epidemiol 2001 ;36:613-20.

McKenzie K , Harpham T , editors. Social capital and mental health. London : Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 2006 .

10.

Almedom AM Social capital and mental health: an interdisciplinary review of primary evidence . Soc Sci Med 2005;61:943-64.

11.

Bourdieu P. The forms of social capital. In: Richardson J , ed. Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: : Greenwood ; 1986. pp. 241-8.

12.

Coleman JS Social capital in the creation of human capital . Am J Soc 1988;94(suppl):95-120.

13.

Putnam RD Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster; 2000.

14.

Kawachi I. , Subramanian SV , Kim D. Social capital and health: a decade of progress and beyond. In: Kawachi I , Subramanian SV , Kim D , editors. Social capital and health. New York: Springer; 2008. pp. 1-26.

15.

De Silva MJ , McKenzie K. , Harpham T. , Huttly SRA. Social capital and mental health: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health 2005;59:619-27.

16.

Nyqvist F. , Gutavsson J. , Gustafson Y. Social capital and health in the oldest old: the Umeå 85+ study. Int J Ageing Later Life 2006;1:91-114.

17.

Van Der Horst RK , McLaren S. Social relationships as predictors of depression and suicidal ideation in older adults. Aging Ment Health 2005;9:517-25.

18.

Forsman A. , Herberts K. , Aromaa E. , Tuulari J. , Wahlbeck K. Kohti pohjalaista hyvinvointia: Mielenterveytta koskeva kyselytutkimus 2008. Menetelmaraportti. [Towards Ostrobothnian well-being: population mental health survey 2008. Methods]. Helsinki: The National Institute for Health and Welfare, Stimulus paper 3/2009; 2009.

19.

Population Mental Health Survey, 2008. Available at: http://info.stakes.fi/vaasanosaamiskeskus/EN/researchanddevelopment/researchanddevelopment.htm (accessed March 2011).

20.

Kessler RC , Andrews G. , Mroczek D. , Ustun B. , Wittchen HU The World Health Organization composite international diagnostic interview short form (CIDI) . Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 1998;7:171-85.

21.

Goldberg DP , Hillier VF A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire . Psychol Med 1979;9:139-45.

22.

Goldberg DP. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Task force for the handbook of psychiatric measures. Handbook of psychiatric measures. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

23.

Papassotiropoulos A. , Heun R. , Maier W. Age and cognitive impairment influence the performance of the General Health Questionnaire. Compr Psychiatry 1997;38:335-40.

24.

Brevik JI , Dalgard O. The Health Profile Inventory. University of Oslo ; 1996.

25.

Aromaa A , Koskinen S , editors. Health and functional capacity in Finland. Baseline results of the Health 2000 health examination survey. National Institute of Public Health; 2004. Available at: http://www.ktl.fi/attachments/suomi/julkaisut/julkaisusarja_b/2004b12.pdf (accessed March 2011).

26.

Axler F. , Kotranski L. , Klein G. , Levengood D. , Stalberg I. , Wilcox R. Social capital and health behaviors: does a relationship exist? Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, Community Health Data Base; 2003.

27.

O’Connor DW , Parslow RA Mental health scales and psychiatric diagnoses: responses to GHQ-12, K-10 and CIDI across the lifespan. J Affect Disord 2010;121:263-7.

28.

Fiske A. , Wetherell JL , Gatz M. Depression in older adults. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2009;5:363-89.

29.

Travis LA , Lyness JM , Shields CG , King DA , Cox C. Social support, depression, and functional disability in older adult primary-care patients. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2004;12:265-71.

30.

Carpiano RM

Toward a neighbourhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: can Bourdieu and sociology help?

Soc Sci Med 2006;62:165-75.

31.

Fuijiwara T. , Kawachi I. A prospective study of individual-level social capital and major depression in the United States. J Epidemiol Community Health 2008;62:627-33.

32.

Iisakka L. Social capital and trust. In: Iisakka L , ed. Social capital in Finland: statistical review. Helsinki: Statistics Finland; 2006 . pp. 23-32.

33.

Young AF , Russell A. , Powers JR

The sense of belonging to a neighbourhood: can it be measured and is it related to health and well being in older women?

Soc Sci Med 2004;59:2627-37.

34.

Harpham T. , Grant E. , Thomas E. Measuring social capital within health surveys. Key issues. Health Policy Plan 2002;17:106-11.

35.

Aromaa E. , Tolvanen A. , Tuulari J. , Wahlbeck K. Predictors of stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders in a general population in Finland. Nord J Psychiatry 2011;65:125-32.