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The Roles of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Physical Health’s Impact on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults

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Abstract

Physical illness may precipitate psychological distress among older adults. This study examines whether social support and self-efficacy moderate the associations between physical health and depression and anxiety. Predictions were tested in 222 individuals age 60 or older presenting for help with worry. Physical health was assessed through self-report (subjective) and physical diagnoses (objective). Objective physical health did not have a significant association with depression or anxiety. Worse subjective physical health was associated with increased somatic anxiety, but not with depression or worry. The relationship between subjective physical health and depressive symptoms was moderated by self-efficacy and social support. As predicted, when self-efficacy was low, physical health had its strongest negative association with depressive symptoms such that as physical health improved, depressive symptoms also improved. However, the moderation effect was not as expected for social support; at high levels of social support, worse physical health was associated with increased depressive affect.

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Acknowledgments

While conducting this research, Amber Paukert received support as a graduate student at the University of Houston, a psychology intern at Baylor College of Medicine, and a postdoctoral research fellow (TPP 61-000) for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health administration, Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) in Seattle, WA. This work was also supported in part by the Houston VA HSR&D Center of Excellence (HFP90-020), the Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, and a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (R01-MH53932) for $1,826,539 from 2003 to 2008 to the last author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, 1660 South Columbian Way, Mail Stop: S-123-HBPC, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA

    Amber L. Paukert

  2. Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Jeremy W. Pettit

  3. Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark E. Kunik, Nancy Wilson & Melinda A. Stanley

  4. Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark E. Kunik, Nancy Wilson & Melinda A. Stanley

  5. Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark E. Kunik, Nancy Wilson & Melinda A. Stanley

  6. Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark E. Kunik & Melinda A. Stanley

  7. Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark E. Kunik

  8. Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Diane M. Novy

  9. Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Howard M. Rhoades

  10. Kelsey Research Foundation, Houston, TX, USA

    Anthony J. Greisinger & Oscar A. Wehmanen

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  1. Amber L. Paukert
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Correspondence to Amber L. Paukert.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Paukert, A.L., Pettit, J.W., Kunik, M.E. et al. The Roles of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Physical Health’s Impact on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 17, 387–400 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-010-9211-6

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