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Article
Willingness to Use Mental Health Services Among Older Residents in Assisted Living
Journal of Applied Gerontology
  • Nan Sook Park, University of South Florida
  • Yuri Jang, University of South Florida
  • Beom Seok Lee, University of South Florida
  • Lawrence Schonfeld, University of South Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2010
Keywords
  • mental health service use,
  • depressive symptoms,
  • social support,
  • assisted living
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464810392373
Abstract

Examining the importance of mental health care in assisted living (AL) settings, the present study examines older AL residents’ willingness to use mental health services and its predictors. Data based on face-to-face interviews with 150 older residents from 17 AL settings in Florida are used in the analyses (Mage = 82.8, SD = 9.4). Multivariate logistic regression is used to estimate the likelihood of willingness to use mental health services in relation to predisposing (demographics and physical health), mental health needs (depressive symptoms), and enabling variables (social network, instrumental support, emotional support, informational support, satisfaction with support, and previous use of mental health services). Willingness to use mental health services is predicted by younger age, unmarried status, lower levels of emotional support, and higher levels of informational support. The relationship of informational support to higher willingness to use mental health services suggests that AL residents could benefit from educational interventions on late life depression.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Journal of Applied Gerontology, v. 31, issue 4, p. 562-579

Citation Information
Nan Sook Park, Yuri Jang, Beom Seok Lee and Lawrence Schonfeld. "Willingness to Use Mental Health Services Among Older Residents in Assisted Living" Journal of Applied Gerontology Vol. 31 Iss. 4 (2010) p. 1 - 18
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lawrence_schonfeld/8/