Social support and nutritional status: Positive psychological capital as a mediator

Abstract

Nutrition is a critical public health concern for older adults and could be influenced by psychosocial factors. We explored the relationships of social support, positive psychological capital, and nutritional status among older adults from the perspective of positive psychology. We used random sampling to recruit 151 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and over, and they took part in face-to-face or telephone interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regression and bootstrapping analyses were applied to examine mediation effects. The results show that there were significant positive correlations between the participants' social support, positive psychological capital, and nutritional status. Furthermore, we found a significant mediating effect of positive psychological capital in the relationship between social support and nutritional status. These findings are of significance for adopting positive psychology interventions to maintain and improve older adults' nutritional status.