Age as a moderator between social support and psychological distress

DELFINO, G.; ACEIRO, A.; GONZALEZ INSUA, F.; GRASSO, L.; RODRÍGUEZ ESPÍNOLA, S.

Cracovia

Congreso; 19th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology; 2023

European Association of Social Psychology

Background: Psychological distress (PD) refers to specific deficits in the emotional capacity of individuals that show the symptoms of anxiety and depression. These disorders hinder the ability to respond to day-to-day demands and maintain good social relationships. Social support (SS) is known to be a health-protective factor since it contributes to well­being and reduces the adverse effects of stress (Vivaldi & Barra, 2012). It has been proven that living with someone is associated with lower levels of PD (Gonnin et al., 2018). In the face of a diagnosis of severe pathology, the manifestation of symptoms and stressful reactions decreases when there is a significant social network (Morgan et al., 2018; Slonim Nevo et al., 2018). In Argentina, the lack of SS is observed in one out of four citizens (Salvia, 2015). Goals: Explore the relationship between SS and PD among different ages. Methods: Cross-sectional empirical study with a representative sample of 5388 Argentine citizens between 18-98. Results: Correlations proved SS and PD relation throughout all ages. Age does moderate between them. The effect of PD and the lack of structural and affective SS is more remarkable in older adults. In contrast, the lack of instrumental and informational SS is higher among young citizens. Conclusions: Social policies should promote intergenerational interventions to improve psychological well-being among all ages.