Influence of social support on the psychological well-being and mental health of older adults living in assisted-living residences

Several studies corroborate the idea that social support pla y s an important role in the pro - motion and maintenance of positive levels of mental health and psychological well-being, especially among older people. There f ore, in this study we aimed to assess the in f luence o f instrumental and per - ceived social support on the psychological well-being and mental health o f older adults living in assist - ed-living residences, describing their social networks and evaluating their satisfaction with receive d support. Also, we also intended to compare those variables with social-demographic variables. Th e sample comprised of 85 older adults ( 63 females, and 22 males ) , from institutions of C ovilha’s munic - ipality ( Portugal ) , their age ranging from 65 to 98 years ( average age = 84,64, S D = 6,67 ) . The instru - ments used were the following: Lubben Social Network Scale – 6 ( Lubben, 2002 ) , the Social Suppor t Satisfaction Scale (Ribeiro, 1999), and the Mental Health Inventory – 5 (Ribeiro, 2002). The results showed that 75,3% of sub j ects with higher perceived social support reported higher levels of ps y cho - logical well-being and mental health. Participants who were male, single and available budget f or per- s onal expenses reported higher levels o f psychological well-being and mental health. The f indings sug - g est that sub j ective perception of support and social satisfaction is a critical factor for older adults who liv e in ass i s t ed r es i de n ces.