Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Amy Fiske

Committee Member

Barry Edelstein

Committee Member

Julie Hicks Patrick

Committee Member

Kristina M. Hash

Abstract

While not a normal part of aging, depression is a concerning psychiatric condition in late life. Depression is a significant predictor of suicide and the highest rates of suicide occur in middle aged and older adult men. One factor that may protect against depression and suicidal behavior among older adults is social support. Social support has been demonstrated as a significant factor in health and well-being. Perceived social support has consistently been linked to beneficial outcomes, however, received support has mixed results with some studies even finding received support to be harmful. For individuals who highly value autonomy, it may be more difficult to handle loss of ability through the aging process. Receiving help could lead to a sense of loss of control, and this could lead to adverse outcomes in people who highly value autonomy. The current study investigated how various types of social support relate to negative affective outcomes and the moderating effect of autonomy on the relationship between received support and negative affective outcomes. Data were collected online through CloudResearch and 647 older adults were recruited. Participants completed measures of functional impairment, social support (perceived, received, and network), depressive symptoms, suicidal behavior, and autonomy. Perceived and received support each significantly predicted depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Autonomy significantly moderated the relationships between perceived and received support and depressive symptoms.

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