Effects of social support and self-esteem on depressive symptoms in Japanese middle-aged and elderly people.
We examined the relationship among social support, self-esteem, and depression. The subjects were 1,116 Japanese community-dwelling adults aged between 40-79, who were the first wave participants of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences--Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the Rosenberg's self-esteem scale that supported the superiority of the bi-dimensional structure of the scale marked by self-confidence and self-deprecation subscales. The subsequent causal analyses, using structural equation modeling, demonstrated that social support reduced depressed affect through an increase in self-confidence and a decrease in self-deprecation. By contrast, social support did not show a direct effect on depressed affect. The findings suggest the importance of esteem-improving elements of social support in reducing depressive symptoms.
Fukukawa
Y
Y
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute for Longevity Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
Tsuboi
S
S
Niino
N
N
Ando
F
F
Kosugi
S
S
Shimokata
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support