Effects of Anxiety on Health Related Quality of Life of the Elderly: Multiple Mediating Effects of Self-esteem and Social Support

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of self-esteem and social support on the relationship between anxiety and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly. @*Methods@#The Korea adult psycho-social anxiety survey data were collected from August to September 2015 by the Korea Institute for Health. The subjects were 1,035 elderly people who were aged 65 or older at the time of the data survey. The data were analyzed by t-test, chi-square, Pearson correlation coefficient, and parallel redundant mediated model for PROCESS macro using SPSS 23.0. @*Results@#They scored an average of 37.93±7.58 for anxiety, 28.59±3.45 for self-esteem, 17.25±4.11 for social support, and 0.88±0.11 for HRQoL. The direct effect of anxiety on HRQoL and the indirect effect of anxiety mediated with self-esteem and social support about HRQoL were statistically significant. @*Conclusion@#These results indicate that in order to increase the HRQoL of the elderly, it is necessary to develop an intervention program that focuses not only on reducing anxiety but also on improving self-esteem and social support.