Psychosocial functioning in the elderly: an assessment of self-concept and depression

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between self-concept and depression in elderly people living in Residential Aged Care (RAC) settings. Forty-five residents, comprising 17 males and 28 females (M = 82.64 years, SD = 8.38 years), were recruited from 10 low-care, RAC facilities in Melbourne, Australia. Participants completed the Geriatric Depression Scale – Short Form and the Tennessee Self Concept Scale: 2. The results revealed that all self-concept domains were significantly lower in RAC residents in comparison to norms drawn from community dwelling samples (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant inverse relationship between depression and self-concept domains (p < 0.05) was observed in RAC residents, with 28.8% of the variance in depression scores accounted for by Physical Self Concept. These findings identify self-concept, particularly physical self-concept, as an important predictor of psychosocial well-being in elderly RAC residents. Further research is needed to examine the efficacy of psychosocial and rehabilitative interventions to optimise self-concept in RAC residents.