Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-09T22:56:31.487Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social support and psychological well-being of nursing home residents in Hong Kong

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2010

Sheung-Tak Cheng ,
Coty Kit Ling Lee  and
Pizza Ka-Yee Chow
Sheung-Tak Cheng*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Studies, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
Coty Kit Ling Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Pizza Ka-Yee Chow
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Studies, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Sheung-Tak Cheng, Department of Psychological Studies, Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong. Phone: +852 9707 8456; Fax: +852 2886 2280. Email: takcheng@ied.edu.hk.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: This study sought to investigate the extent to which structural and functional social support promotes psychological well-being among nursing home residents in a Chinese society.

Methods: 71 nursing home residents (57 women, 14 men) provided ratings on contact frequency and emotional and instrumental support exchanges with network members. Psychological well-being was measured using depression, loneliness, positive affect, and life satisfaction.

Results: Network size was associated with well-being, but was largely nonsignificant after controlling for frequency of contact or functional support. Contact and support from staff and fellow residents were consistently related to all well-being variables, whereas interactions with family were associated with life satisfaction and positive affect only. Being able to reciprocate support was also related to well-being in this sample of frail elderly, controlling for other factors.

Conclusion: Interactions with staff and residents in the institution are more protective of well-being than interactions with family members. Even in a society where familism is strongly valued, assimilation into the institution facilitates support exchange when needed.

Keywords

social supportnursing homepsychological well-beingChineseelderly
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 22 , Special Issue 7: Focus on mental health issues in long-term-care homes , November 2010 , pp. 1185 - 1190
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bitzan, J. E. and Kruzich, J. M. (1990). Interpersonal relationships of nursing home residents. Gerontologist, 30, 385–390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boerner, K. and Reinhardt, J. P. (2003). Giving while in need: support provided by disabled older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B, S297–S304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, S. L., Nesse, R. M., Vinokur, A. D. and Smith, D. M. (2003). Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it: results from a prospective study of mortality. Psychological Science, 14, 320–327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cantor, M. H. (1979). Neighbors and friends: an overlooked resource in the informal support system. Research on Aging, 1, 434–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Census and Statistics Department. (2007). Hong Kong 2006 Population By-census Main Report, Vols. I and II. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.Google Scholar
Challis, L. and Bartlett, H. (1988). Old and Ill: Private Nursing Homes for Elderly People. Surrey, U.K.: Age Concern.Google Scholar
Cheng, S-T. (1993). The social context of Hong Kong's booming elderly home industry. American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 449–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, S-T. (2004). Age and subjective well-being revisited: a discrepancy perspective. Psychology and Aging, 19, 409–415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, S.-T. (2009). The social networks of nursing home residents in Hong Kong. Ageing and Society, 28, 163–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, S.-T. and Chan, A. C. M. (2003). Regulating quality of care in nursing homes in Hong Kong: a social-ecological analysis. Law and Policy, 25, 403–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, S.-T. and Chan, A. C. M. (2004). A brief version of the Geriatric Depression Scale for the Chinese. Psychological Assessment, 16, 182–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, S.-T. and Chan, A. C. M. (2006). Filial piety and psychological well-being in well older Chinese. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 61B, P262–P269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, S.-T. et al. (2010). The Geriatric Depression Scale as a screening tool for depression and suicide ideation: a replication and extension. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Epublished ahead of print. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181bf9edd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cohen, S., Gottlieb, B. H. and Underwood, L. G. (2000). Social relationships and health. In Cohen, S., Underwood, L. G. and Gottlieb, B. H. (eds.), Social Support Measurement and Intervention: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists (pp. 3–25). New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S. and Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J. and Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M. F., Anthony, J. C., Parhad, I., Duffy, B. and Gruenberg, E. M. (1985). The meaning of cognitive impairment in the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 33, 228–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaugler, J. E., Zarit, S. H. and Pearlin, L. I. (2003). Family involvement following institutionalization: modeling nursing home visits over time. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 57, 91–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamid, P. N. and Cheng, S.-T. (1996). The development and validation of an index of emotional disposition and mood state: the Chinese Affect Scale. Educational and Psychological Assessment, 56, 995–1014.Google Scholar
Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C. and Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: results from two population-based studies. Research on Aging, 26, 655–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, R. L. and Antonucci, T. C. (1980). Convoys over the life course: attachment, roles, and social support. In Baltes, P. B. and Brim, O. (eds.), Life-span Development and Behavior, vol. 3 (pp. 253–286). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lee, D. T. F., Woo, J. and Mackenzie, A. E. (2002). The cultural context of adjusting to nursing home life: Chinese elders’ perspectives. Gerontologist, 42, 667–675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liang, J., Krause, N. M. and Bennett, J. M. (2001). Social exchange and well-being: is giving better than receiving? Psychology and Aging, 16, 511–523.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Litwak, E. (1985). Helping the Elderly: The Complimentary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal System. Guilford: New York.Google Scholar
Mahoney, F. I. and Barthel, D. (1965). Functional evaluation: the Barthel Index. Maryland State Medical Journal, 14, 56–61.Google ScholarPubMed
Nemoto, T. (1998). Subjective norms toward social support among Japanese American elderly in New York City: why help does not always help. Journal of Community Psychology, 26, 293–316.3.0.CO;2-V>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Port, C. L et al. (2001). Resident contact with family and friends following nursing home admission. Gerontologist, 41, 589–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, D. P., Peplau, L. A. and Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherer, M. (2001). Interactions with friends in a nursing home and residents’ morale. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 26, 23–40.Google Scholar