title: The role of social support in the relationship between urinary incontinence and psychological distress in older adults.
abstract: While an association between UI and psychological distress among older adults has been established in the literature, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain less clear. Using a sample of 4,689 older adults from the Canadian Community Health Survey (1.1), we test the potential mediating and moderating effects of four dimensions of social support on the UI-distress relationship. Incontinent older adults are significantly more likely to report higher levels of distress than continent adults. Although we do not find support for a mediating effect of any of the dimensions of social support, we do report a significant interaction between one dimension of social support (tangible support) and UI. A buffering effect of tangible support is evident for continent - but not incontinent - respondents. These findings emphasize the need to assess the types of social support and the context in which they operate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, 6th Floor, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada. laurie.corna@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Laurie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Corna
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cairney
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012944:Social Support; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000523:psychology*