Predictors of Depression of Widowed Elders

Lee, Kyu Eun; Yom, Young Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was done to identify the relationship of perceived health, coping strategies, dependency, suicidal ideation and depression widowed elders, and to identify predictors of depression in this population. METHOD: The research design for this study was a descriptive survey design using a convenience sampling. Data collection was done using self-questionnaire with 162 elders from welfare centers for senior citizens located in 3 cities, Seoul, Gangneung and Seosan. Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS Win 12.0 Program were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS
Depression had significant negative correlations with perceived health (r=-.525, p<.001), and coping strategies (r=-.253, p=.005) and positive correlations with dependency (r=.430, p<.001), and suicidal ideation (r=.473, p<.001). The explained variance for depression was 47.5%. Of the variables, perceived health (beta=-.237, p=.003), suicidal ideation (beta=.398, p<.001) and dependency (beta=.341, p<.001) significantly predicted the degree of depression.
CONCLUSION
Findings from this study provide a comprehensive understanding of depression and related factors for widowed elders in Korea. However, further study with a larger random sample and more a detailed research design is necessary.