Preprint
Social support and mental health among older women in Southern Vietnam
SSRN
04/05/2026
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Abstract
This cross-sectional study aims to describe the experiences of social support, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms, and to examine their associations among older women in Southern Vietnam. The study was conducted among 440 randomly selected community women aged 60 and over in Southern Vietnam in 2014-2015. Interview-administered, Vietnamese-validated, paper-based questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive, bivariate association analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling were used for data analysis. The study found that most older women in Southern Vietnam (72.7%, n = 320) had fewer than five supporters but reported receiving frequent social support as needed. Older women with lower levels of education and those living without a partner had fewer supporters and received social support less frequently. They self-reported a low level of perceived stress, but one in four was at risk of clinical depression. Having more supporters was associated with receiving more social support, which, in turn, was linked to lower perceived stress and fewer depressive symptoms. Interventions to manage depression should target older women with lower education and not living with a partner, and promote social support.
Details
- Title
- Social support and mental health among older women in Southern Vietnam
- Creators
- Tiet-Hanh Dao-Tran (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityQue-Tran Nguyen (Author) - Nursing Department, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City, Viet NamLe-Trinh Lam (Author) - University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh CityCharrlotte Seib (Author) - Griffith University
- Publisher
- SSRN
- Grant note
- This research did not receive a specific grant from either public, commercial, or not-for-profit funding agencies.
- Identifiers
- 991013374160702368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Preprint