FEAR OF DEPENDENCY AS A PREDICTOR OF DEPRESSION IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

There is evidence that older adults who subscribe to negative stereotypes of aging tend to have higher morbidity and mortality rates than similarly aged individuals who reject negative stereotypes of aging (Levy et al., 2002). This paper examines the stereotype that older adults are dependent on others. Baltes (1996) linked the dependency stereotype to feelings of incompetence or helplessness. Fear of looking dependent in others’ eyes has made some older adults refuse to use helpful assistive devices that would actually increase their independence (Resnick et al., 2009). In addition, some older people stay home all the time because they do not want to look like they need help when they are out in public (Adams-Price & Morse, 2009). This paper introduces a new measure of fear of dependency. The fear of dependency scale was developed from a sample of 1424 adults across the US between ages of 45 and 99. In a separate sample of 91 older adults, regression analyses were conducted that indicated that fear of dependency was a strong predictor of depression, even after health, disability, and age were taken into account. In addition, fear of dependency correlated negatively with life satisfaction and generativity, and positively with the Fears subscale of the Personal Longevity scale (Adams-Price et al., in press). The implications of Fear of Dependency for well-being in later life will be discussed.