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The Role of Social Support in the Relationship between Urinary Incontinence and Psychological Distress in Older Adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Laurie M. Corna  and
John Cairney
Laurie M. Corna*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
John Cairney
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Laurie M. Corna, B.A., M.Sc. (candidate), Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, 6th Floor Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7. ([email protected])
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Abstract

While an association between UI and psychological distress among older adults has been established in the literature, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain less clear. Using a sample of 4,689 older adults from the Canadian Community Health Survey (1.1), we test the potential mediating and moderating effects of four dimensions of social support on the UI–distress relationship. Incontinent older adults are significantly more likely to report higher levels of distress than continent adults. Although we do not find support for a mediating effect of any of the dimensions of social support, we do report a significant interaction between one dimension of social support (tangible support) and UI. A buffering effect of tangible support is evident for continent – but not incontinent – respondents. These findings emphasize the need to assess the types of social support and the context in which they operate.

Résumé

Bien que la relation entre l'incontinence urinaire (IU) et la détresse psychologique chez les personnes âgées ait été établie dans la documentation spécialisée, les mécanismes qui sous-tendent cette relation restent relativement flous. Au moyen d'un échantillon de 4 689 personnes âgées tiré de l'Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes (1.1), nous avons évalué les effets potentiels de médiation et de modération de quatre dimensions du soutien social sur la relation entre l'IU et la détresse. Les personnes âgées incontinentes sont considérablement plus susceptibles de déclarer des niveaux élevés de détresse que les adultes qui ne souffrent pas d'incontinence. Bien que nous n'ayons pas démontré l'effet de médiation d'une quelconque dimension du soutien social, nous avons constaté une interaction appréciable entre l'une des dimensions du soutien social (le soutien tangible) et l'IU. Le soutien tangible a visiblement un effet tampon sur les répondants incontinents, mais pas sur ceux qui ne le sont pas. Ces résultats mettent l'accent sur la nécessité d'évaluer les divers types de soutien social ainsi que le contexte dans lequel ils sont offerts.

Keywords

social supporttangible supporturinary incontinencepsychological distressolder adultsagingsoutien socialsoutien tangibleincontinence urinairedétresse psychologiquepersonnes âgées
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , Fall/Automne 2005 , pp. 285 - 294
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2005

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