Influence of Social Capital on Depression of Older Adults Living in Rural Area: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influence of social capital on the depression of older adults living in rural areas. Methods: Data sets were obtained from the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey. The participants were 39,390 older adults over 65 years old living in rural areas. Indicators of social capital included trust, reciprocity, network, and social participation. Depression-the dependent variable-was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Hierarchical ordinal logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with depression after adjusting the data numbers to 102,601 by applying the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). Results: The independent variables-indicators of social capital-exhibited significant association with the depression of older adults. The odds ratios of depression were higher in groups without social capital variables. Conclusion: To reduce depression, we recommend increasing social capital. Factors identified in this study need to be considered in older adult depression intervention programs and policies.