Social support and depression among elderly Chinese people in Hong Kong

This study examines the association between social support and depressive s ymptomatology in a representative community sample of 1106 Chinese people i n Hong Kong aged sixty years or older. Significant bivariate relationships were found between depression and all dimensions of social support includin g social network size, network composition, social contact frequency, satis faction of social support, instrumental/emotional support, and helping othe rs. Using multiple regression models, the authors found that at least one m easure of these six dimensions of social support was associated with depres sive symptomatology, even after controlling for socio-demographic, and func tional disability. We found that social support from family is important fo r elderly Chinese people in Hong Kong, and satisfaction with support is a m ore important predictor of depression levels than other objective measures of network relationships. Lastly, it was found that material aid and instru mental support is more important in preventing depression for elderly indiv iduals in Hong Kong than emotional support.