Resumen
Antecedentes: A pesar del apoyo de la literatura al importante papel de la conexión social en la Calidad de Vida (CV) de las personas mayores, el estudio de esta asociación es escaso, especialmente en los mecanismos sociales específicos de cada sexo. Este estudio analizó la relación entre conexión social y CV en adultos mayores que vivían en la comunidad, considerando diferencias por sexos. Método: Participaron 709 personas de 60 años y más. Se utilizó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales para probar el modelo hipotetizado. Las asociaciones entre las variables evaluadas se probaron por separado para mujeres y hombres. Resultados: La relación entre función familiar y CV fue completamente mediada por recursos psicológicos y salud mental, pero los resultados difirieron en mujeres y hombres. La relación entre soledad y la CV fue mediada parcialmente, siendo la gratitud y la resiliencia más relevantes en mujeres. Conclusiones: Se destaca el papel crítico de los factores sociales, ya que los seres humanos somos inherentemente sociales. El estudio encontró diferencias por sexos en la relación entre conexión social y CV, mediada por recursos psicológicos, bienestar y angustia. Hombres y mujeres enfrentan las adversidades de manera diferente. Es importante considerar estas diferencias al diseñar intervenciones.
Citas
Aranda, M. P., Castaneda, I., Lee, P.-J., & Sobel, E. (2001). Stress, social support, and coping as predictors of depressive symptoms: Gender differences among Mexican Americans. Social Work Research, 25(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/25.1.37
Beridze, G., Ayala, A., Ribeiro, O., Fernández-Mayoralas, G., Rodríguez-Blázquez, C., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, V., Rojo-Pérez, F., João Forjaz, M., & Calderón-Larrañaga, A. (2020). Are loneliness and social isolation associated with quality of life in older adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(22), 8637. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228637
Bond, F. W., Hayes, S. C., Baer, R. A., Carpenter, K. M., Guenole, N., Orcutt, H. K., Waltz, T., & Zettle, R. D. (2011). Preliminary psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire–II: A revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance. Behavior Therapy, 42(4), 676–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2011.03.007
Butler, J., & Ciarrochi, J. (2007). Psychological acceptance and quality of life in the elderly. Quality of Life Research, 16(4), 607–615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-006-9149-1
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Erlbaum.
Eagly, A. H. (1987). Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Psychology Press.
Emmons, R. A. (2004). The psychology of gratitude: An introduction. In R. A. Emmons & M. E. McCullough (Eds.), The psychology of gratitude (pp. 3–16). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150100.003.0001
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Gerino, E., Rollè, L., Sechi, C., & Brustia, P. (2017). Loneliness, resilience, mental health, and quality of life in old age: A structural equation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2003. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02003
Gu, Y., Zhang, H., Ali, S. H., Huang, M., Wei, J., Gu, S., Zhen, X., Hu, X., Sun, X., & Dong, H. (2019). Social determinants of health-related quality of life among residents in Zhejiang and Qinghai, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(8), 1314. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081314
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change. Guilford Press.
Healthy People 2030, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Social determinants of health. Retrieved March 2025, from https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health
Higgs, P., Hyde, M., Wiggins, R., & Blane, D. (2003). Researching quality of life in early old age: The importance of the sociological dimension. Social Policy and Administration, 37(3), 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9515.00336
Hood, C. M., Gennuso, K. P., Swain, G. R., & Catlin, B. B. (2016). County health rankings: Relationships between determinant factors and health outcomes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.08.024
Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: Results from two population-based studies. Research on Aging, 26(6), 655–672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027504268574
Jans-Beken, L., Jacobs, N., Janssens, M., Peeters, S., Reijnders, J., Lechner, L., & Lataster, J. (2020). Gratitude and health: An updated review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(6), 743–782. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1651888
Jeong, H., & Lee, Y. (2020). Sex-based differences in the quality of life of elderly Koreans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 743. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030743
Jöreskog, K. G. (1993). Testing structural equation models. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Lang (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 294–316). Sage.
Kousha, A., Lotfalinezhad, E., Nadrian, H., Bhalla, D., Asghari-Jafarabadi, M., Sohrabi, A., Hashemiparast, M., & Honarvar, M. R. (2022). Determinants of subjective loneliness and quality of life among community-dwelling older adults in Gorgan, Iran. Advances in Gerontology, 12(4), 423–432. https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079057022040099
Krok-Schoen, J. L., Naughton, M. J., Felix, A. S., Wiley Cené, C., Springfield, S., Yu, M., McLaughlin, E. M., Shadyab, A. H., Nolan, T. S., Kroenke, C. H., Garcia, L., Follis, S., & Jackson, R. D. (2023). Resiliency among Women's Health Initiative women aged 80 and older by race, ethnicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 78(9), 1445–1458. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad048
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
Littman-Ovadia, H. (2015). Short form of the VIA Inventory of Strengths: Construction and initial tests of reliability and validity. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, 2(4), 229–237.
Lu, C., Yuan, L., Lin, W., Zhou, Y., & Pan, S. (2017). Depression and resilience mediates the effect of family function on quality of life of the elderly. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 71, 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2017.02.011
Mayerl, H., Schultz, A., Freidl, W., & Stolz, E. (2024). Short-term dynamics of loneliness and depressive symptoms: Gender differences in older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 123, 105423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2024.105423
Morgan, T., Wiles, J., Park, H.-J., Moeke-Maxwell, T., Dewes, O., Black, S., Williams, L., & Gott, M. (2021). Social connectedness: What matters to older people? Ageing and Society, 41(5), 1126–1144. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X1900165X
Nakhodaeezadeh, M., Jafarabadi, M. A., Allahverdipour, H., Matlabi, H., & Dehkordi, F. R. (2017). Home environment and its relation with quality of life of older people. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 31(3), 272–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763893.2017.1280583
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences; Board on Health Sciences Policy; Committee on the Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness in older adults: Opportunities for the health care system. National Academies Press.
Panayiotou, G., Karekla, M., & Leonidou, C. (2017). Coping through avoidance may explain gender disparities in anxiety. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(2), 215–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.04.005
Park, C., Majeed, A., Gill, H., Tamura, J., Ho, R. C., Mansur, R. B., Nasri, F., Lee, Y., Rosenblat, J. D., Wong, E., & McIntyre, R. S. (2020). The effect of loneliness on distinct health outcomes: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 294, 113514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113514
Pérez-Rojo, G., López, J., Noriega, C., Martínez-Huertas, J. A., Velasco, C., Carretero, I., López-Frutos, P., Galarraga, L., & Pillemer, K. (2021). Older people's personal strengths during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Psicothema, 33(3), 423–432. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2020.453
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(4), 717–731. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553
Ratanasiripong, P., Ratanasiripong, N., Khamwong, M., Jingmark, S., Thaniwattananon, P., Pisaipan, P., Sanseeha, L., Rungnoei, N., Songprakun, W., Tonkuriman, A., & Bunyapakorn, S. (2022). The impact of resiliency on mental health and quality of life among older adults in Thailand. Journal of Health Research, 36(5), 908–918. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHR-02-2021-0099
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Seidler, Z. E., Dawes, A. J., Rice, S. M., Oliffe, J. L., & Dhillon, H. M. (2016). The role of masculinity in men's help-seeking for depression: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 49, 106–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.09.002
Sinclair, V. G., & Wallston, K. A. (2004). The development and psychometric evaluation of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Assessment, 11(1), 94–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191103258144
Smilkstein, G. (1978). The Family APGAR: A proposal for family function test and its use by physicians. The Journal of Family Practice, 6(6), 1231–1239.
Stalling, I., Gruber, M., & Bammann, K. (2024). Sex differences in physical functioning among older adults: Cross-sectional results from the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1629. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19125-z
Tobiasz-Adamczyk, B., Galas, A., Zawisza, K., Chatterji, S., Haro, J. M., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Koskinen, S., & Leonardi, M. (2017). Gender-related differences in the multi-pathway effect of social determinants on quality of life in older age—the COURAGE in Europe project. Quality of Life Research, 26(7), 1865–1878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1530-8
Torres, Z., Oliver, A., & Tomás, J. M. (2024). Understanding the effect of loneliness on quality of life in older adults from longitudinal approaches. Psychosocial Intervention, 33(3), 171–178. https://doi.org/10.5093/pi2024a11
WHO Quality of Life Assessment Group. (1996). ¿Qué calidad de vida? [What quality of life?]. Foro Mundial de la Salud, 17(4), 385–387. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/55264
World Health Organization. (2015). World report on ageing and health. World Health Organization.
Yue, X. D., Hiranandani, N. A., Jiang, F., Hou, Z., & Chen, X. (2017). Unpacking the gender differences on mental health: The effects of optimism and gratitude. Psychological Reports, 120(4), 639–649. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117701136
Zarling, A., Kim, J., Russell, D., & Cutrona, C. (2023). Online acceptance and commitment therapy as treatment for loneliness among older adults: Report of a pilot study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71(8), 2557–2563. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18345
Zigmond, A. S., & Snaith, R. P. (1983). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67(6), 361–370. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1983.tb09716.x