title: Widowhood and depressive symptoms among Korean elders: the role of social ties.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examines the impact of social ties on the relationship between widowhood and depressive symptoms among the older Korean population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were derived from the baseline survey of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. The sample consisted of 1,953 men and 2,469 women aged ≥60 years who were married and had at least 1 child. The 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale was the outcome measure. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the influence of social ties as the mediators and moderators on the relationship between widowhood and depressive symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The quality of relationship between women and their children accounted for 51.52% of the difference in depressive symptoms between married and widowed women, but only 11.36% between married and widowed men. The interaction of widowhood and the quality of relationships with children was significant only among men, and the interaction of this status and cohabitation with married children was significant only among women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quality of relationship with children plays an important mediating role in the relationship between widowed status and depressive symptoms among Korean men and women elders. Cohabitation with children may buffer mental distress for such women, and qualitatively good relationships with children may be important as moderators for the mental health of older Korean men after bereavement.
authors.affiliation: Correspondence should be addressed to Soong-Nang Jang, Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, 221 Heukseok-dong Dongjak-gu, Seoul 156-756, South Korea. E-mail: sjang@cau.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Gyeong-Suk
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Soong-Nang
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Dong-Sik
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung-Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D017805:Widowhood / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Depressive symptoms; Older adults; Social ties.; Widowhood