The relationship of internalized stigma and social support with well-being and depression among the elderly

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between internalized stigma and social support with well-being and depressive mood in individuals over 65 years of age. Material and Method: The study is survey model. A questionnaire was applied to 162 people in survey. Dependent variables of research are geriatric depression scale and WHO-5 well-being index score. The independent variables of the study are the sociodemographic characteristics, multidimensional perceived social support, and elderly internalized stigma scale score. Mann Witney U test, Kruskal Wallis test, Spearman correlation and ordinal logistic regression were applied in the analyzes of data. SPSS 25.0, Stata 14 and Lisrel 9.1 statistical package programs were used in study. Results: In the analysis, a meaningful relationship was determined between depressive mood and well-being, the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants such as age, education status, marital status, who they lived with, income status, chronic disease. There was also significant relationship between depressive mood and well-being and elderly internalized stigma level and multidimensional perceived social support level. Elderly internalized stigma was positively correlated with depressive mood, and negatively linked with well-being. Nonetheless, multidimensional perceived social support was negatively linked depressive mood and positively correlated with well-being. Conclusion: It has been identified that both internalized stigma and social support, independently affect the well-being and depressive mood. The presence of social support has reduced the depressive mood caused by internalized stigma and increased the well-being.