Depression, socialization and autonomy in institutionalized elderly

Abstract

Depression is one of the most common diseases in the elderly. The existence of effective treatments can improve the quality of life of this population group. The epidemiology of depression is greater in institutionalized elders than in those who live outside these centers. There are variables to be taken into account to improve depressive status in the elderly population. Objectives: As a goal we ask ourselves to know if certain variables of dependency, emotional and sociodemographic can influence the depression of this group of elderly geriatric centers. And we consider the hypothesis of a greater dependence and less socialization of the subject, the depression will be greater. Participants: A sample of 80 elderly people admitted to a mixed geriatric residence dependent on the Provincial Council of Salamanca was chosen. Method: The GDS-8 of geriatric depression of Yesevage, questionnaire data demographic, emotional and dependency were used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to the data through the SPSS program. Results: The results indicate that higher scores in dependency variables are associated with higher scores in depression. It is greater in women than in men, and in widows or divorced than in married or with couple. And higher also the lower the punctuation in values of socialization. 25% of the participants give significantly high scores in depression. Conclusion: According to the results, the hypothesis has been verified and the objectives raised in the investigation have been fulfilled. Empowering and developing autonomy, social contact will be seems a good way to prevent depressive states is institutionalized elders.