The theoretical frame for this research is based on the Stress Process Model but extends and elaborates the SPM in order to apply to research aims of the present study (Pearlin, Menaghan, Lieberman, & Mullan, 1981). As shown in Figure 1, the Stress Process Model (SPM) has identified interconnections between stressors and psychological stress outcomes with intervening mediators (Pearlin, 1989; Pearlin et al., 1981). A mediator is a significantly “intervening variable” (p.14) between two variables in the causal relationship (Preacher & Hayes, 2008).
Based on the Stress Process Model, this research investigated the direct effects of protective factors, (coping strategies, social support and having confidants’ relationships), on depressive symptoms …show more content…
This study sample included respondents who reported a history of being physically abused by a spouse or romantic partner. Older adults who had experienced physical abuse were measured using the binary question, “Has your spouse, or romantic partner, ever treated you in a way that some would think of as physical abuse?” Answers were converted into dummy variables: yes (1) and no (0). This study sample consists of respondents who have experienced spouse/partner physical abuse.
Depressive symptoms. Research has reported that people with current depression have an increased likelihood of lifetime depression (Kroenke et al., 2009). Depressive symptoms were measured with the scale based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scales (CES-D) (Radloff, 1977). This scale has been widely accepted to measure depression among older adults (Haringsma, Engels, Beekman, & Spinhoven, 2004). The Cronbach's Alpha is .825. Depression symptoms provided by the WLS were measured by having the participants report the number of days in the past week (0-7days) that they experienced each of twenty depression symptoms. For the current study, participants’ responses were summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 140, with higher scores representing higher levels of depressive symptoms. This study used mean of squared root of depressive symptoms due to kurtosis and skewedness. Only respondents who answered 17 and above …show more content…
Coping was measured by items based on the Brief Cope (Carver, 1997), an adaptation of the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Scale (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Respondents were asked questions about what they generally do when experiencing a stressful situation, using a four-point scale where 1 is “I usually do not do this at all,” 2 is “I usually do this a little bit,” 3 is “I usually do this a medium amount,” 4 is “I usually do this a lot.” According to the COPE (Carver et al., 1989) and the Brief Cope (Carver, 1997) scales, problem-focused coping is indicated by eight items ( α =.83) and emotion-focused coping is indicated by ten items ( α = .68). The Cronbach's alpha for the emotion-focused coping scale was slightly lower than .70, “the acceptable value” (p. 54) (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011); however, factor analysis showed that the factor loading of each of the ten items had above /.32/ (Tabachnick, Fidell, & Osterlind, 2008). Problem-focused coping includes active coping, planning, positive-reframing and acceptance while emotion-focused coping is composed of self-distraction, behavior disengagement, denial, self-blame and venting (Carver, 1997). Active coping is indicated by two items: “I concentrate my efforts on doing something about the situation I’m in” and “I take action to try to make the situation better.” Planning coping is indicated by “I try to come up with a strategy about what to do” and “I think hard about what steps to take.”
Based on the Stress Process Model, this research investigated the direct effects of protective factors, (coping strategies, social support and having confidants’ relationships), on depressive symptoms …show more content…
This study sample included respondents who reported a history of being physically abused by a spouse or romantic partner. Older adults who had experienced physical abuse were measured using the binary question, “Has your spouse, or romantic partner, ever treated you in a way that some would think of as physical abuse?” Answers were converted into dummy variables: yes (1) and no (0). This study sample consists of respondents who have experienced spouse/partner physical abuse.
Depressive symptoms. Research has reported that people with current depression have an increased likelihood of lifetime depression (Kroenke et al., 2009). Depressive symptoms were measured with the scale based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scales (CES-D) (Radloff, 1977). This scale has been widely accepted to measure depression among older adults (Haringsma, Engels, Beekman, & Spinhoven, 2004). The Cronbach's Alpha is .825. Depression symptoms provided by the WLS were measured by having the participants report the number of days in the past week (0-7days) that they experienced each of twenty depression symptoms. For the current study, participants’ responses were summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 140, with higher scores representing higher levels of depressive symptoms. This study used mean of squared root of depressive symptoms due to kurtosis and skewedness. Only respondents who answered 17 and above …show more content…
Coping was measured by items based on the Brief Cope (Carver, 1997), an adaptation of the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Scale (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Respondents were asked questions about what they generally do when experiencing a stressful situation, using a four-point scale where 1 is “I usually do not do this at all,” 2 is “I usually do this a little bit,” 3 is “I usually do this a medium amount,” 4 is “I usually do this a lot.” According to the COPE (Carver et al., 1989) and the Brief Cope (Carver, 1997) scales, problem-focused coping is indicated by eight items ( α =.83) and emotion-focused coping is indicated by ten items ( α = .68). The Cronbach's alpha for the emotion-focused coping scale was slightly lower than .70, “the acceptable value” (p. 54) (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011); however, factor analysis showed that the factor loading of each of the ten items had above /.32/ (Tabachnick, Fidell, & Osterlind, 2008). Problem-focused coping includes active coping, planning, positive-reframing and acceptance while emotion-focused coping is composed of self-distraction, behavior disengagement, denial, self-blame and venting (Carver, 1997). Active coping is indicated by two items: “I concentrate my efforts on doing something about the situation I’m in” and “I take action to try to make the situation better.” Planning coping is indicated by “I try to come up with a strategy about what to do” and “I think hard about what steps to take.”