Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T10:39:09.352Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Food insecurity and depressive symptoms of older adults living alone in South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2018

YOUNGMI KIM ,
AELY PARK  and
KYEONGMO KIM
YOUNGMI KIM
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
AELY PARK*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
KYEONGMO KIM
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
*
Address for correspondence: Aely Park, Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewha yeodae-Gil Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul, South Korea 120–750 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In South Korea, the number of older adults living alone is rapidly increasing with the growth of the ageing population. Although there is some evidence of a link between financial strain and depression in this population, there is limited empirical evidence on the relationship between food insecurity and depression in older adults living alone despite the fact that they have a high prevalence of food insecurity and tend to seek food assistance. This study aims to investigate whether food insecurity explains depressive symptoms in Korean older adults living alone. We employed data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study collected from a large-scale national sample in South Korea. Our sample consisted of 815 older adults aged 65 or older who lived alone. Conducting ordinary least square regression analyses, we tested the main effect of food insecurity on depression and the interaction effect of food insecurity and low income. We found that the relationship between food insecurity and depressive symptoms differed by low-income status (b = 6.27, p = 0.047). The association was significant only in the low-income group (b = 1.37, p = 0.04). These findings suggest that protecting access to food may be a promising strategy to lessen depressive symptoms associated with financial strain among older adults living alone.

Keywords

food insecuritydepressive symptomsolder adults living aloneKorea Welfare Panel Study
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 39 , Issue 9 , September 2019 , pp. 2042 - 2058
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alley, D. E., Soldo, B. J., Pagan, J. A., McCabe, J., DeBlois, M., Field, S. H., Asch, D. A. and Cannuscio, C. 2009. Material resources and population health: disadvantages in health care, housing, and food among adults over 50 years of age. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 3, S693–701.Google Scholar
Ban, J. H. 2011. Effects of household composition variety on income inequality. Social Welfare Policy, 38, 1, 85–111.Google Scholar
Beverly, S. G. 2001. Measures of material hardship: rationale and recommendations. Journal of Poverty, 5, 1, 23–41.Google Scholar
Bickel, G., Nord, M., Price, C., Hamilton, W. and Cook, J. 2000. Guide to Measuring Household Food Security. Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington DC. Available online at http://hungerfreecommunities.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/USDA-guide-to-measuring-food-security.pdf [Accessed 5 December 2017].Google Scholar
Cho, C. Y. 2013. A study on the depression and social support factors that influence suicide ideation among the elderly from an ecological perspective. Korean Journal of Care Management, 8, 1–21.Google Scholar
Chung, K., Oh, Y., Kang, E., Kim, J., Sun, W., Oh, M., Lee, Y., Hwang, N., Kim, K., Oh, S., Park, B., Shin, H. and Lee, K. 2014. A 2014 Survey on Older Adults. Korean Institute of Social and Health Affairs, Sejong, Korea.Google Scholar
Djernes, J. 2006. Prevalence and predictors of depression in populations of elderly: a review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 113, 5, 372–87.Google Scholar
German, L., Kahana, C., Rosenfeld, V., Zabrowsky, I., Wiezer, Z., Fraser, D. and Shahar, D. R. 2011. Depressive symptoms are associated with food insufficiency and nutritional deficiencies in poor community-dwelling elderly people. Journal of Nutrition and Health Aging, 15, 1, 3–8.Google Scholar
Gordon, D. 2006. The concept and measurement of poverty. In Pantazis, C., Gordon, D. and Levitas, R. (eds), Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain. The Policy Press, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Hampton, T. 2007. Food insecurity harms health, wellbeing of millions in the United States. Journal of American Medical Association, 298, 16, 1851–3.Google Scholar
Han, H., Oh, E. and Joung, S. 2014. An analysis of variables related to financial satisfaction of one-person households. Financial Planning Review, 7, 1, 173–98.Google Scholar
Heflin, C. and Iceland, J. 2009. Poverty, material hardship, and depression. Social Science Quarterly, 90, 5, 1051–71.Google Scholar
Heflin, C. M., Siefert, K. and Williams, D. R. 2005. Food insufficiency and women's mental health: findings from a 3-year panel of welfare recipients. Social Science Medicine, 61, 9, 1971–82.Google Scholar
Hoe, M., Park, B. and Bae, S. 2015. Testing measurement invariance of the 11-item Korean Version CES-D Scale. Mental Health and Social Work, 43, 2, 313–39.Google Scholar
John, S. T., Blandfor, A. A. and Strain, L. A. 2006. Depressive symptoms among older adults in urban and rural areas. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 12, 1175–80.Google Scholar
Johnson, C. M., Sharkey, J. R. and Dean, W. R. 2011. Indicators of material hardship and depressive symptoms among homebound older adults living in North Carolina. Journal of Nutrition and Gerontology and Geriatrics, 30, 2, 154–68.Google Scholar
Kim, J. S. and Shin, S. M. 2012. National Workfare Programs and Women's Working Poverty. Korean Women's Development Institute, Seoul.Google Scholar
Kim, K. and Frongillo, E. 2009. Patterns of food insecurity and participation in food assistance programmes over time in the elderly. Public Health Nutrition, 12, 11, 2113–9.Google Scholar
Kim, K. and Kim, M. 2009. Development and validation of food security measure. Korean Journal of Nutrition, 42, 4, 374–85.Google Scholar
Kim, K., Kim, M. K. and Shin, Y. J. 2009. Household food insecurity and its characteristics in Korea. Health Social Welfare Review, 29, 2, 268–92.Google Scholar
Kim, K. and Lee, M. 2015. Depressive symptoms of older adults living alone: the role of community characteristics. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 80, 3, 248–63.Google Scholar
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013. Korea Health Statistics 2013: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Ministry of Health and Welfare, Seoul.Google Scholar
Korean Institute of Social and Health Affairs 2009. User's Guide: Korea Welfare Panel Study. Korean Institute of Social Health Affairs, Sejong, South Korea.Google Scholar
Lee, K. I. 2012. Strategic Approach Toward Vitalizing Food Assistance Programs. Korea Rural Economic Institute, Naju, South Korea.Google Scholar
Lee, M., Kang, E. and Lee, J. 2013. Effectiveness of care services designed for older adults living alone: depression, self neglect and social network. Journal of the Korean Gerontological Society, 33, 3, 787–803.Google Scholar
Lee, M. and Kim, K. 2014. Prevalence and risk factors for self-neglect among older adults living alone in South Korea. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 78, 2, 115–31.Google Scholar
Lee, S. S. and Kim, S. H. 2011. A study on the living conditions and social welfare needs of the elderly who lives alone in the farming and fishing communities – focused on the province of Jeollnamdo. Journal of Korean Regional Development, 11, 1, 23–60.Google Scholar
Leung, C. W., Epel, E. S., Willett, W. C., Rimm, E. B. and Laraia, B. A. 2015. Household food insecurity is positively associated with depression among low-income supplemental nutrition assistance program participants and income-eligible nonparticipants. Journal of Nutrition, 145, 3, 622–7.Google Scholar
Meals on Wheels America 2017. Hunger in Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for the Aging Services Network. Available online at http://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/docs/default-source/research/hungerinolderadults-fullreport-feb2017.pdf?sfvrsn=2 [Accessed 11 April 2017].Google Scholar
Ministry of Health and Welfare 2012. Perspective and present state of population alteration on aged society and decreasing childbirth society in 2nd conference. Report paper, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Seoul.Google Scholar
Park, J., Kim, K., Kim, M., Kim, M., Kim, B., Kim, S., Kim, J. L., Moon, S. W., Bae, J. N., Woo, J. I., Ryu, S., Yoon, J. C., Lee, N., Lee, D. Y., Lee, D. W., Lee, S. B., Lee, J. J., Lee, C., Chang, S. M., Jhoo, J. H. and Cho, M. J. 2012. A nationwide survey on the prevalence and risk factors of late life depression in South Korea. Journal of Affective Disorders, 138, 1/2, 34–40.Google Scholar
Park, M. J. 2010. The study of daily life of aged women living alone who receive the National Basic Livelihood Security Program. Health Social Welfare Review, 30, 1, 62–91.Google Scholar
Radloff, L. S. 1977. The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Journal of Applied Psychological Measure, 1, 3, 385–401.Google Scholar
Rim, C. S., Jang, G. S. and Jeong, M. S. 2013. A study on influential factors for the suicide ideation of the elderly living alone. Han Nam University Social Science Institute, 22, 192–223.Google Scholar
Ro, J., Park, J., Lee, J. and Jung, H. 2015. Factors that affect suicidal attempt risk among Korean elderly adults: a path analysis. Journal of Preventative Medicine Public Health, 48, 1, 28–37.Google Scholar
Russell, J., Flood, V., Yeatman, H. and Mitchell, P. 2014. Prevalence and risk factors of food insecurity among a cohort of older Australians. Journal of Nutritional Health and Aging, 18, 1, 3–8.Google Scholar
Russell, J., Flood, V. M., Yeatman, H., Wang, J. J. and Mitchell, P. 2016. Food insecurity and poor diet quality are associated with reduced quality of life in older adults. Nutrition and Dietetics, 73, 1, 50–68.Google Scholar
Shin, S. H. and Sok, S. R. 2012. A comparison of the factors influencing life satisfaction between Korean older people living with family and living alone. International Nursing Review, 59, 2, 252–8.Google Scholar
Sim, S. 2013. South Korea Elderly Poverty Rate Highest Among OECD Countries, Report Says. Available online at http://www.ibtimes.com/south-korea-elderly-poverty-rate-highest-among-oecd-countries-report-says-1848010 [Accessed 5 December 2017].Google Scholar
Statistics Korea 2017. 2016 Income Distribution Indicators. Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Daejeon, South Korea.Google Scholar
Strickhouser, S., Wright, J. D. and Donley, A. M. 2014. Food Insecurity Among Older Adults. AARP Foundation, Washington DC. Available online at http://frac.org/blog/older-americans-month-part-1-understanding-food-insecurity-among-older-adults [Accessed 5 December 2017].Google Scholar
Temple, J. B. 2008. Severe and moderate forms of food insecurity in Australia: are they distinguishable? Australian Journal of Social Issues, 43, 4, 649–68.Google Scholar
Tucker-Seeley, R., Li, Y., Subramanian, S. V. and Sorensen, G. 2009. Financial hardship and mortality among older adults using the 1996–2004 Health and Retirement Study. Annals of Epidemiology, 19, 2, 850–7.Google Scholar