Effects of Perceived Social Support on Self Esteem in Elderly

Yoo, Yang Gyeong; Ko, Sung Hee; Kim, Kwuy Bun; Chung, Seung Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was done to identify the degree that perceived social support effects the self esteem of the elderly. METHOD: A structured questionnaire was administered to 203 elderly subjects from April 2003 to June 2003. The data were analyzed with an SPSS program for descriptive statistics, Pearson`s correlation coefficients, t-test, ANOVA, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The level of social support was moderate; family support received the highest score among sources of support. In types of support, appraisal support was the highest score and material was the lowest. The level of self esteem was also moderate. The score of social support showed a slightly high positive correlation with self esteem. In general characteristics, several variables were significantly related to self esteem. The most powerful predictor of self esteem was material support by family and the variance explained was 19.6%. A combination of material support by family, informational support by relatives, perceived economic status, perceived health status, and having a subject to depend on accounted for 39.8% of the variance in self esteem of the elderly. CONCLUSION: To increase the self esteem of the elderly, it is necessary to consolidate material support by family.