title: Life strain and psychological distress of older women and older men in Hong Kong.
abstract: This study examined the life strain and psychological distress among a group of older adults (N = 1034, 51.2% female) in Hong Kong. Data were collected through individual interviews in which a standardized questionnaire was administered. The results indicated that older women had more somatic complaints and poorer self-rated health. Family network and interdependent relationships were significantly poorer among the older women than in the older men. Women were also found to experience a higher level of psychological distress (as measured by GDS-15 and GHQ-12) than did men. Perceived financial strain and poor physical health had similar direct effect on the psychological distress of both older women and older men. In contrast to Western findings, a poor family network was observed to exert a greater direct effect on psychological distress than an inadequate social network of friends. Generally, a good social network was found to mitigate the negative impact of life strain factors among older men, but not among older women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China. kwboey@hkucc.hku.hk
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Boey
authors.forename: H F K
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012803:Sick Role; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*