Social support, self-esteem, and depression in the institutionalized elderly.

Psychosocial studies of the elderly have been limited primarily to noninstitutionalized elderly living at home in the community. Only a few studies have explored the psychological implications of being institutionalized despite the fact that approximately 5% of the 25.6 million elderly 65 years or older in the United States reside in nursing homes (Rovner & Rabins, 1985). This correlational study was a beginning effort to investigate the relationships among depression, social support, self-esteem, and selected demographic variables in a sample of 26 institutionalized elderly individuals. The Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ) was used for measuring social support. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale were used to measure depression and self-esteem respectively. The applicability of these instruments for studies of the elderly is discussed. Findings indicated that the demographic characteristics of the subjects had no significant effect on their feeling of self-esteem or depression. However, social support significantly correlated with depression and there was some indication that the type of institutional setting and frequency of religious participation also interacts with the level of depression. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.