This study aimed to investigate the moderation of social support in the association between loneliness and depression in different age groups of older adults. The sample consisted of 1532 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older, based on the data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), Wave 3 (2015–2016). Eleven items of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were used to measure depressive symptoms. Similarly, a four-item scale was used to measure social support (each from spouse and family), and a three-item scale for loneliness. The results were as follows. Loneliness was associated with depression in both the young-old and the old-old groups. Spousal support and family support were associated with reduced depression in the young-old group, whereas only spousal support was associated with relieving depression in the old-old group. Social support had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between loneliness and depression in the old-old group, whereas it had no significant effect in the young-old group. From these results, it can be concluded that spousal support plays a significant role in seniors’ mental health. The role of caregivers for a person’s well-being grows later in life, so practitioners could help couples communicate with this consideration. In addition, regular contacts with family members and spousal support are recommended to prevent older old adults’ depression.

Background: South Korea’s suicide rates are the highest among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, making it one of the most important societal issues in South Korea. Methods: the statistics on causes of death and resident registration central population (RRCP) provided by the National Statistical Office were used to calculate the suicide rate among older adults in Korea. We examined gender (male, female), age (young–old, old–old), and region (urban, rural) by conducting latent growth modeling to estimate changes in the overall older adult suicide rate and verify its relationship. Results: over a period of 8 years, the older adult suicide rate was 104.232 on average in 2010 and it decreased by approximately 10.317 every year, and the rate of decrease gradually slowed down. The initial value of the older adult suicide rate was found to be higher among males, the old–old group, and those living in rural regions. In the quadratic function change rate, only males and the old–old group were statistically significant. Conclusion: in this study, the direction of and the rate of change in the older adult suicide rates and the relationship between gender, age, and region were examined. It is expected that this study will provide basic data to assist in establishing older adult suicide prevention policies, considering the gender, age, and region of the aging population.

Neighborhoods have a significant impact on depressive symptoms in older adults. In response to the increasing depression of older adults in Korea, this study aims to identify the relationship between perceived and objective neighborhood characteristics in depressive symptoms and find differences between rural and urban areas. We used a National survey collected in 2020 of 10,097 Korean older adults aged 65 and older. We also utilized Korean administration data for identifying the objective neighborhood characteristics. Multilevel modeling results indicated that depressive symptoms decreased when older adults perceived their housing condition (b = −0.04, p < 0.001), their interaction with neighbors (b = −0.02, p < 0.001), and overall neighborhood environment (b = −0.02, p < 0.001) positively. Among the objective neighborhood characteristics, only nursing homes (b = 0.09, p < 0.05) were related to depressive symptoms of older adults living in urban areas. For older adults living in rural areas, the number of social workers (b = −0.03, p < 0.001), the number of senior centers (b = −0.45, p < 0.001), and nursing home (b = −3.30, p < 0.001) in the neighborhood were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. This study found that rural and urban areas have different neighborhood characteristics related to older adults’ depressive symptoms in South Korea. This study encourages policymakers to consider neighborhood characteristics to improve the mental health of older adults.

While smoking is a crucial health risk, it adversely affects oral health, particularly becoming riskier for older adults who have smoked for a long time. This study identifies the patterns of smoking behavior changes in older adults aged 65 years and older and examines how the smoking behavior changes affect their oral health. Longitudinal data were derived from Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) between 2006 and 2018, targeting the older adults 65 years and older in South Korea. The independent variable was the amount of smoking, and the dependent variable was oral health. For data analysis, SPSS 25.0 and M-plus 8.0 programs were utilized. As a result, the patterns of changes in smoking behavior of the older adults finally derived were ‘non-smoking,’ ‘decreasing,’ ‘high-level maintenance,’ and ‘decreasing after increasing.’ Furthermore, the relationship between the smoking behavior change pattern of the older adults and oral health was revealed. Specifically, as for the smoking behavior change pattern of the older adults, it was confirmed that the oral health was better in the ‘non-smoking’ pattern compared to the ‘high-level maintenance’ pattern. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the ‘decreasing’ pattern and the ‘decreasing after rising’ pattern did not significantly affect oral health. The findings imply that even if older adults smoked a lot in the past, if they quit smoking at some point, it can positively affect their oral health. Furthermore, it is suggested to allow public officials, medical professionals, and welfare experts to actively intervene for older adults to stop smoking for their oral health.

Background: In South Korea, there are many situations that can threaten financial well-being, a factor that has been known to affect both mental and physical health. However, there has so far not been an instrument to measure an individual’s subjective financial well-being. Objective: This study aims to adapt the Korean version of the Personal Financial Wellness (PFW) scale. Methods: The Korean version of the PFW scale was evaluated with 2,044 adults who participated in an online survey in South Korea. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the PFW scale. Its validity was assessed by examining factor loadings, average variances extracted (AVE), and conceptual reliability (CR). In addition, the relationships between the PFW scale and the scales measuring theoretically relevant constructs were analyzed. Reliability was examined using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the corrected item-to-total correlation, the inter-item correlation, and McDonald's omega. Results: The evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the PFW scale indicates that it exhibits a single-factor structure, consistent with the English version. Factor loadings, AVE, and CR all exceeded the recommended thresholds. The model also demonstrated consistent fit indices regardless of the subsample. Invariance of both configural and factor loadings was established across gender, while invariance of configural, factor loadings, and intercepts was confirmed across regions. Additionally, the PFW scale, a subjective measure of financial well-being, is more strongly related to health-related variables than monthly income, which is an objective indicator of financial well-being. Internal consistency reliability for the Korean version of the PFW scale was found to be satisfactory. Conclusions: The adaptation of the Korean version of the PFW scale provides a valuable instrument for researchers and practitioners in South Korea, where an instrument measuring an individual’s subjective financial well-being does not exist.

Purpose: This study analyzed the longitudinal relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep duration to investigate the factors contributing to sleep deprivation in Korean children. Methods: To overcome the limitations of previous studies, panel quantile regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep duration. Key variables were smartphone addiction, sleep duration, gender, and age. Results: According to the study results, the level of smartphone addiction among children significantly increased from 2018 to 2022, while sleep duration continuously decreased. A particularly strong negative relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep duration was found. Conclusion: These results suggest that smartphone addiction is strongly associated with sleep deprivation in children, emphasizing the need for policies and intervention measures to create a healthy sleep environment for children.