Relationship of Living and Eating Arrangements to Mental Distress Among Older Korean Immigrants: Gender Difference in the Mediating Role of Loneliness.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Park, Nan Sook; Jang, Yuri; Chung, Soondool; Chiriboga, David A.; Haley, William E.
- Source
- Research on Aging. Feb2024, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p153-166. 14p.
- Subject
- *IMMIGRANTS
*FOOD habits
*WELL-being
*AGE distribution
*MENTAL health
*SEX distribution
*SOCIAL isolation
*LONELINESS
*RESEARCH funding
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*FACTOR analysis
*MENTAL depression
*RESIDENTIAL patterns
*PSYCHOLOGICAL distress
*OLD age
- Language
- ISSN
- 0164-0275
This study examined how different living/eating arrangements were associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms among older Korean immigrants. We examined gender differences considering: (1) patterns of living/eating arrangements and their relations with loneliness and mental distress and (2) indirect effect of living/eating arrangements on mental distress through feeling lonely. Data were drawn from the Study of Older Korean Americans that surveyed older; Korean immigrants during 2017–2018 (N = 2150). Living/eating arrangements were classified in the combination of four categores. Using the PROCESS macro, we tested gender differences in the mediation effect of loneliness on the relationship between living/eating arrangements and mental distress while controlling for background/health characteristics and social connectedness-related variables. The mediating role of loneliness was manifested differentially between men and women. By administering simple measures of living/eating arrangements, practitioners could potentially identify key targets to improve social and mental well-being, particularly among older immigrants with limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]