Volume 10, Issue 1 (June 2024)
Elderly Health Journal 2024, 10(1): 20-26 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Morowatisharifabad M A, Mozaffari F, Jambarsang S, Bidaki R. Social Support, Body Image, and Death Anxiety in Later Life: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yazd City, Iran. Elderly Health Journal 2024; 10 (1) :20-26
URL: http://ehj.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-283-en.html
URL: http://ehj.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-283-en.html
Research Center of Addiction and Behavioral Sciences, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd , Iran , Reza_Bidaki@yahoo.com
Abstract: (291 Views)
Introduction: Social support is a crucial factor in how well older adults adjust to the aging process and related challenges, such as anxiety about death. Body image in older adults is a complex and important concept, yet it has been under-researched. This study examined the correlations between social support, death anxiety, and body image in older adults residing in Yazd City, Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved older adults from Yazd City, Iran, who visited comprehensive urban health centers in 2022. A convenience sample of 200 participants was selected. They completed questionnaires on demographics, social support perception, body image concerns, and death anxiety.
Results: The total social support score (p < 0.01) as well as the score of family support (p < 0.05) and others' support (p < 0.01) showed a significant negative correlation with death anxiety. However, no significant association was found between death anxiety and body image, nor between social support and body image. Regression analysis revealed that only "support from others" was a significant predictor of death anxiety (p < 0.01). Men reported receiving more friends' social support than women (p < 0.05). Participants with higher socioeconomic status were more likely to receive greater family’s social support (p < 0.01) and experience less death anxiety (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Social support positively impacts the mental well-being and morale of older adults. It can, therefore, be considered a readily available resource and a form of social capital to reduce death anxiety, enhance their sense of purpose, and improve their quality of life.
Corresponding Author: Reza Bidaki
View Orcid in Profile
You can search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Profile
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved older adults from Yazd City, Iran, who visited comprehensive urban health centers in 2022. A convenience sample of 200 participants was selected. They completed questionnaires on demographics, social support perception, body image concerns, and death anxiety.
Results: The total social support score (p < 0.01) as well as the score of family support (p < 0.05) and others' support (p < 0.01) showed a significant negative correlation with death anxiety. However, no significant association was found between death anxiety and body image, nor between social support and body image. Regression analysis revealed that only "support from others" was a significant predictor of death anxiety (p < 0.01). Men reported receiving more friends' social support than women (p < 0.05). Participants with higher socioeconomic status were more likely to receive greater family’s social support (p < 0.01) and experience less death anxiety (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Social support positively impacts the mental well-being and morale of older adults. It can, therefore, be considered a readily available resource and a form of social capital to reduce death anxiety, enhance their sense of purpose, and improve their quality of life.
Corresponding Author: Reza Bidaki
View Orcid in Profile
You can search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Profile
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2023/12/15 | Accepted: 2024/05/26 | Published: 2024/06/21
Received: 2023/12/15 | Accepted: 2024/05/26 | Published: 2024/06/21
References
1. Riahi ME, Aliverdinia A, Pourhossein Z. Relationship between social support and mental health. Social Welfare Quarterly. 2011; 10(39): 85-121.
2. Liu L, Gou Z, Zuo J. Social support mediates loneliness and depression in elderly people. Journal of Health Psychology. 2016; 21(5): 750-8.
3. Şahin DS, Özer Ö, Yanardağ MZ. Perceived social support, quality of life and satisfaction with life in elderly people. Educational Gerontology. 2019; 45(1): 69-77.
4. Smith GL, Banting L, Eime R, O’Sullivan G, Van Uffelen JG. The association between social support and physical activity in older adults: a systematic review. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2017; 14(1): 1-21.
5. Sherman SM, Cheng YP, Fingerman KL, Schnyer DM. Social support, stress and the aging brain. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 2016; 11(7): 1050-8.
6. Salarvand S, Abedi H. The elders' experiences of social support in nursing home: A qualitative study. Iran Journal of Nursing. 2007; 20(52): 39-50. [Persian]
7. Gallagher LP, Truglio-Londrigan M. Community support: older adults’ perceptions. Clinical Nursing Research. 2004; 13(1): 3-23.
8. Henrie J, Patrick JH. Religiousness, religious doubt, and death anxiety. International Journal of Aging and Human Development. 2014; 78(3): 203-27.
9. Abdel-Khalek AM, Tomás-Sábado J. Anxiety and death anxiety in Egyptian and Spanish nursing students. Death Studies. 2005; 29(2): 157-69.
10. Malliarou M, Sotiriadou K, Serafeim T, Karathanasi K, Moustaka E, Theodosopoulou E, et al. Greek nurses attitudes towards death. Global Journal of Health Science. 2011; 3(1): 1-8.
11. Gire JT. How death imitates life: Cultural influences on conceptions of death and dying. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. 2002; 6(2): 1-22.
12. Moorhead SA. The nursing outcomes classification. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem. 2009; 22(SPE): 868-71.
13. Hoelterhoff M. Resilience against death anxiety in relationship to post-traumatic stress disorder and psychiatric co-morbidity [PhD thesis]. England: University of Plymouth; 2010.
14. Lehto R, Stein K. Death anxiety: an analysis of an evolving concept. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice. 2009; 23(1): 23-41.
15. Bong M, Skaalvik EM. Academic self-concept and self-efficacy: How different are they really? Educational Psychology Review. 2003; 15(1): 1-40.
16. Baker L, Gringart E. Body image and self-esteem in older adulthood. Ageing & Society. 2009; 29(6): 977-95.
17. Cash TF. The influence of sociocultural factors on body image: Searching for constructs. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 2005; 12(4): 438-42.
18. Tiggemann M, Lynch JE. Body image across the life span in adult women: the role of self-objectification. Developmental Psychology. 2001; 37(2): 243-53.
19. Kim S, Park KS. A meta analysis on variables related to death anxiety of elderly in Korea. Korean Journal of Adult Nursing. 2016; 28(2): 156-68.
20. Ghufran M, Ansari S. Impact of widowhood on religiosity and death anxiety among senior citizens. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology. 2008; 34(1): 175-80.
21. Mehri Nejad SA, Ramezan Saatchi L, Paydar S. Death anxiety and its relationship with social support and adherence to religion in the elderly. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2017; 11(4): 494-503. [Persian]
22. Poordad S, Momeni K, Karami J. Death anxiety and its relationship with social support and gratitude in older adults. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2019; 14(1): 26-39. [Persian]
23. Amini chokami A, Razavi V. Relationship between social support and hope and death anxiety among the old people of Tehran Omid Cultural Center. International Journal of Life Sciences. 2015; 9(2): 65-70.
24. Vaux A, Phillips J, Holly L, Thomson B, Williams D, Stewart D. The social support appraisals (SS-A) scale: Studies of reliability and validity. American Journal of Community Psychology. 1986; 14(2): 195-218.
25. Littleton HL, Axsom D, Pury CL. Development of the body image concern inventory. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2005; 43(2): 229-41.
26. Templer DI, Ruff CF. Death anxiety scale means, standard deviations, and embedding. Psychological Reports. 1971; 29(1): 173-4.
27. Mashak R. Comparison of irrational beliefs, social support and social anxiety of female students with employed and non-employed mothers in Ahvaz high schools. Ahvaz: Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz. 2006.
28. Bassak nejad S, Ghafari M. The relationship between body dimorphic concern and psychological problems among university students. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 2007; 1(2): 179-87. [Persian]
29. Rajabi GR, Bohrani M. Item factor analysis of the death anxiety scale. Journal of Psychology. 2002; 5(4): 331-44. [Persian]
30. Chopik WJ. Death across the lifespan: Age differences in death-related thoughts and anxiety. Death Studies. 2017; 41(2): 69-77.
31. Bakhtiyari M, Emaminaeini M, Hatami H, Khodakarim S, Sahaf R. Depression and perceived social support in the elderly. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2017; 12(2): 192-207. [Persian]
32. Chalise HN, Saito T, Takahashi M, Kai I. Relationship specialization amongst sources and receivers of social support and its correlations with loneliness and subjective well-being: A cross sectional study of Nepalese older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2007; 44(3): 299-314.
33. Babapour M, Raheb G, Eglima M. The relationship between social support and life satisfaction among elderly nursing home residents in Tehran. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2014; 9(1): 6-13. [Persian]
34. Cohen S. Social relationships and health. American Psychologist. 2004; 59(8): 676-84.
35. Mincu CL, Taşcu A. Social support, satisfaction with physician-patient relationship, couple satisfaction, body satisfaction, optimism as predictors of life satisfaction in people having a current perceived health problem. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2015; 187: 772-6.
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
