Relationship between social support and mental health in older adults

Due to the elderly growing population, different types of social support are very important in promoting their mental health. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and mental health in the elderly. In this descriptive-analytical study, 200 elderly of Bojnourd city were selected through simple random sampling. To gather the data, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ) were used as well as a questionnaire containing demographic variables. Data analysis was completed through SPSS-16. A total of 200 elderly participated in the study. The sample consisted of 90 females (44.6 %) and the mean age of the elderly was 68.91 ± 7.89 years. According to the results, mean of GHQ score in the sample was 24.09 ± 13.08, which indicateed a fairly good level of mental health. In addition, social function had a significant correlation with total social support and subscales of functional, emotional and material. Findings disclosed that increasing the social support of the elderly can put a significant impact on their mental health and social functioning. So, it is essential for the countries to consider the olderlys’ social network and necessities in their large scale plannings.