The Moderating Effect of Social Capital on the Relationship Between Loneliness and Depression in Older Adults

Loneliness contributes to depression in older adults, but research on effective intervention strategies remains limited. This study aims to examine the moderating effects of social capital on the relationship between loneliness and depression in older adults. Social capital was divided into structural and cognitive social categories. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 350 participants aged 65 or older, using the Korean version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, Short-Form Geriatric Depression Scale, Structural Social Capital Scale, and Cognitive Social Capital Scale. Data from 334 patients were included in the final analysis, and the moderating effect was tested using Model 1 of the PROCESS Macro for SPSS. The results of this study are as follows: (1) it demonstrated that loneliness is a significant predictor of higher levels of depression; (2) structural social capital significantly moderated this relationship, indicating that the impact of loneliness on depressive symptoms varied according to the level of structural social capital; (3) cognitive social capital also moderated this relationship, suggesting that the influence of loneliness on depression differs based on the level of cognitive social capital. This study provides valuable foundational data for the development of prevention and intervention strategies targeting loneliness and depression in old age.