Abstract

FERNANDEZ ARAGON, Shirley; CACERES RIVERA, Diana  and  MANRIQUE-ANAYA, Yolima. Perceptions of Social Support among Older Adults Living in the so-called Centros de Vida Institutions. Divers.: Perspect. Psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.16, n.1, pp.55-64.  Epub Jan 01, 2020. ISSN 1794-9998.  https://doi.org/10.15332/22563067.5541.

Networks of social support are determining factors for the health of older adults, since their absence increases the risk of physical and psychological disorders. This research aimed to describe the perception of social support among older adults living in the so-called Centros de Vida [Life Centers] in Cartagena, Colombia. It was a descriptive-transversal study, with a sample of 320 individuals from a population of 2,308 resident seniors. Information was collected through the Perception of Social Support Multidimensional Scale. Socio-demographically, participants were between 80 and 89 years of age (32.8%), male (50.9%), married (29.7%), in free union (30.3%), lacking in educational background (47.8%), childless (90.6%), having just grandchildren (84.1%), and suffering from hypertension (48.8%). The most frequent perception of social support was excellent (34.4%), especially with family (45.3%) and relatives (48.1%). In conclusion, older adults perceive excellent social support in these institutions.

Keywords : older adults; social support; perception; life centers.

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