Elementos estructurales de la red social, fuentes de apoyo funcional, reciprocidad, apoyo comunitario y depresión en personas mayores en Chile / Structural dimension of social networks, sources of functional support, reciprocity, community support, and depression among elder people in Chile

La asociación entre apoyo social y depresión en el caso de las personas mayores constituye un objeto de estudio de especial relevancia en sociedades con altas tasas de envejecimiento, como es el caso de Chile. La presente investigación se centra en el papel jugado por variables de carácter psicosociológico: tipo de apoyo en función de la fuente de procedencia, reciprocidad en el apoyo según tipo de apoyo y fuente de procedencia, y apoyo comunitario. Se aplicaron escalas de depresión y apoyo social ampliamente utilizadas en una muestra (n=493) de la región de Arica-Parinacota, en el Norte de Chile. Se realiza un análisis de regresión jerárquica y de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados sugieren que el cónyuge y los hijos son las fuentes de apoyo relevantes para los síntomas de depresión, sobre todo en sus funciones instrumental y emocional. La reciprocidad en el apoyo es una variable fundamental para dar cuenta de la relación existente entre fuentes de apoyo social y depresión

The relation among aeging, social support, and depression is a key subject in societies with rising aeging rates, as Chile is. The present piece of research focus on the rol played by psychosociological variables: type of support by source, reciprocity in support by type and source of support, and communitary support. Validated and widely used scales for depression and social support where applied in a sample (n=493) obtained from Arica-Parinacota region, north of Chile. Hierarchichal regression and structural equation model (SEM) are used. Results suggest that partner and adult children constitute the main sources of support (specially emotional and instrumental) against depression. Reciprocity is a key variable to account for the relation between sources of support and depression

Ethnicity, Social Support, and Depression Among Elderly Chilean People.

Recent evidence regarding the relationship between social support and depression in elderly people shows the important role of ethnicity. This research describes the characteristics of social support in a sample of elderly people aged 60 and above living in northern Chile (n = 493), and analyzes the differences in the relationship between social support and depression between an indigenous group (Aymara population, n = 147) and a nonindigenous group (white, Caucasian, mestizo, n = 346). Various dimensions of social support were considered: structural elements, functional social support according to source, and community participation. The results show the existence of significant differences in the characteristics and dimensions of social support depending on sex, ethnicity, and marital status. Further, the central role of the family group is observed for both Aymara and nonindigenous elderly people. The hierarchical regression models obtained result in notable differences in the role of the structural, functional, and community elements of support in explaining depression for the ethnic groups considered.