Relationship Between Social Function and Social Well-Being in Older Adults

• Main Authors: Pouya Farokhnezhad Afshar, Mahshid Foroughan, Abou Ali Vedadhi, Mahmoud Ghazi Tabatabaei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Negah Institute for Scientific Communication 2017-06-01
• Series: Iranian Rehabilitation Journal
• Subjects: Mental health; Social conditions; Aged; Older adults
• Online Access: http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-565-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Objectives: Health refers to the condition of perfect physical, mental and social well-being. The appropriate social well-being is the opposite of loneliness and depression. Social well-being is a psychosocial concept that is affected by many factors. This study determined the relationship between social function and social well-being in older adults. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted on 550 older adults in Tehran. The participants were selected by multistage cluster sampling. Data was collected using Social Well-being Scale and Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson coefficient and linear regression analysis in SPSS v. 22. Results: The mean age of participants was 66.10&plusmn;6.68 years. The female participants accounted for 41.1% of subjects. There were significant correlations between all aspects of social function (quality of activities and the quality of relationships) and social well-being dimensions (P<0.01). The quality of activities had significant positive effects on all aspects of social well-being (P<0.01), and the quality of relationships also had significant effects on different aspects of social well-being, except on social coherence (P=n.s). Discussion: The findings showed that the social function affects social well-being. So individuals with higher social functioning also have higher social well-being and mental health.