title: Belief in a just world and depression in elderly nursing home residents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Belief in a just world (BJW) modulates people's abilities to cope with anxiety, fear, and life transitions and thus depression and its debilitating effects. Little is known about how Belief in a just world modulates these coping abilities in elderly nursing home residents or their levels of depression either.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 354 cognitively able elderly nursing home residents in Lebanon was selected for the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study, therefore, explored elderly belief in a just world (BJW-S) by gender and length of time in elderly homes in its relation to levels of depression as measured by the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDS) and the Mini-Mental State Examination screening instrument for older adults.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings showed no main significant effects for gender or length-of-stay on level of depression. The chief significant difference found was for scores on the belief in a just world scale and levels of depression. Those who had high scores on belief in a just world scored low on depression, and vice-versa.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Therefore, a strong belief in a just world seemed to act as a preventative or coping mechanism against depression from initial transition forward for elderly nursing home residents.
authors.affiliation: O'Leary Library 527, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, 1 University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854-5104, USA. James_Carifio@uml.edu
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carifio
authors.forename: Ramzi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nasser
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology; D003469:Culture; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012935:Social Justice / Q000523:psychology*