title: Loneliness and depressive symptoms among older adults: The moderating role of subjective life expectancy.
abstract: Loneliness and depressive symptoms are closely related, and both are indicators of reduced physical and mental well-being in old age. In recent years, the subjective perception of how long an individual expects to live (subjective life expectancy) has gained importance as a significant predictor of future psychological functioning, as well as of physical health. The current study examined whether subjective life expectancy moderates the connection between loneliness and depressive symptoms in a representative sample of older adults. Data was collected from the Israeli component of the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel). Participants (n=2210; mean age=70.35) completed measures of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and life expectancy target age. A hierarchical regression analysis predicting depressive symptoms yielded a significant interaction of loneliness and subjective life expectancy. Further analyses demonstrated that low subjective life expectancy mitigated the loneliness-depressive symptoms connection. Findings are discussed in light of the potential burden of higher subjective life expectancy for lonesome older adults, and practical implications are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; Department of Music, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel. Electronic address: Ehud.bodner@biu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bodner
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.
authors.forename: Yoav S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Bergman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Elderly; Perceived social isolation; Psychological distress; SHARE-Israel; Subjective distance to death