Multi-Dimensional Social Relations and Mental Health among Rural Older Adults

To date, knowledge of the association between social-relational patterns and health among rural elders in non-Western social and cultural contexts is scant. Using regional population data in rural South Korea, this study examines comprehensive social relations among rural elders, and the extent to which heterogeneous patterns of social relations were associated with cognitive impairment and depression. Using comprehensive social-relational indicators with (a) the structure of social relations (b) the quality of social relations, we applied latent class analysis identified four subgroups of social relations among rural older adults: Restricted, Spouse Focused-Ambivalent, Community Engaged-Positive, and Diverse. We found that the Community-Engaged group was less likely to be depressed as well as have co-ocurring problems of cognitive impairment and depression.