IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jocnur/v21y2012i15-16p2118-2125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Role of social support in cognitive function among elders

Author

Listed:
  • Shuzhen Zhu
  • Jie Hu
  • Jimmy T Efird

Abstract

Aims and objectives. To examine cognitive function and its relationships to demographic characteristics and social support among elders in central China. Background. Cognitive decline is prevalent among elders. Few studies have explored the relationship between social support and cognitive function among elders. Design. A cross‐sectional, descriptive correlational study. Methods. A quasi‐random, point of reference sample of 120 elders residing in central China was recruited for study. Instruments used included a: Socio‐demographic Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Scale on Perceived Social Support and the Mini‐Mental State Examination. Hierarchical multiple regression was performed to examine the relationships among demographic variables, social support and cognitive function. Results. Age, education and social support accounted for 45·2% of the variance in cognitive function. Family support was the strongest predictor of cognitive function. Elders who had higher educational levels and more family support had better cognitive function. Relevance to clinical practice. Community healthcare providers should consolidate social support among elders in China and use family support interventions to reduce or delay cognitive decline, especially among those of increased age who are illiterate. Conclusion. Elders who had higher educational level and more family support had better cognitive function levels. Interventions that include family support are needed to improve cognitive function among elders in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuzhen Zhu & Jie Hu & Jimmy T Efird, 2012. "Role of social support in cognitive function among elders," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(15‐16), pages 2118-2125, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:21:y:2012:i:15-16:p:2118-2125
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04178.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04178.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04178.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xianghe Zhu & Martina Luchetti & Damaris Aschwanden & Amanda A. Sesker & Yannick Stephan & Angelina R. Sutin & Antonio Terracciano, 2023. "Multidimensional Assessment of Subjective Well-being and Risk of Dementia: Findings from the UK Biobank Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 629-650, February.
    2. Taiji Noguchi & Ippei Nojima & Tomoe Inoue-Hirakawa & Hideshi Sugiura, 2019. "The Association between Social Support Sources and Cognitive Function among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A One-Year Prospective Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-9, October.
    3. Chiyoe Murata & Tami Saito & Masashige Saito & Katsunori Kondo, 2019. "The Association between Social Support and Incident Dementia: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-10, January.
    4. Ke Cui & Timothy Sim, 2017. "Older people’s psychosocial needs in a post-disaster rural community of China: an exploratory study," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 85(3), pages 1577-1590, February.
    5. Panagiota Koutsimani & Anthony Montgomery & Elvira Masoura & Efharis Panagopoulou, 2021. "Burnout and Cognitive Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:21:y:2012:i:15-16:p:2118-2125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2702 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.