Support in times of need: How depressive symptoms can impact receipt of social support among aging adults in rural South Africa.

ABSTRACT: The relationship between mental health and receipt of social support is not well understood in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we focus on a cohort of older adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between mental health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which marital status modifies these associations. We use baseline data from a population-based study, Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), conducted between 2014 and 2015. Our results suggest that men and women who report depressive symptoms are less likely to receive social support: women are less likely to receive emotional and financial support, and men are less likely to receive physical and financial support. Both men and

SUBMITTER: Jennings EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7549146 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature