Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
9-2023
Abstract
Objectives: There is a dearth of research on the psychological processes that underlie the negative relation between impaired instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and depressive symptoms in older adults. Drawing on the stress process model and the resilience framework, we investigated whether purpose in life and resilience serially mediate the relationship between impaired IADL and depressive symptoms.Methods: We recruited 111 cognitively healthy community-dwelling older adults (ages 54-85; M = 66.5) who scored a minimum of 25 points on the Mini-Mental State Examination.Results: We found that purpose in life and resilience serially mediated the relationship between IADL and depressive symptomatology in older adults. This association held true when we controlled for covariates. Additional sensitivity analyses also supported these findings.Conclusions: This study extends our understanding of how IADL limitations contribute to depressive symptoms. Using a community-dwelling, cognitively healthy sample, we demonstrate that functional limitations indirectly influence older adults' depressive symptoms through a decreased sense of purpose in life and decreased resilience.Clinical implications: Our findings have implications for intervention programs that aim to alleviate IADL limitations and mental health issues in an aging population and promote healthy aging by improving psychosocial resources (i.e., purpose in life and resilience).
Keywords
IADL, depressive symptoms, older adults, purpose in life, resilience
Discipline
Clinical Psychology | Gerontology | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Clinical Gerontologist
Volume
46
Issue
5
First Page
844
Last Page
859
ISSN
0731-7115
Identifier
10.1080/07317115.2022.2130847
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Citation
NG, Wee Qin, & YANG, Hwajin.(2023). Investigating the link between IADL and depressive symptoms in older adults: A cross-sectional serial mediation model. Clinical Gerontologist, 46(5), 844-859.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4138
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2022.2130847
