ABSTRACT
It has been widely recognized that depression is a serious problem in elderly individuals. Epidemiological research suggests that depression is evident in over 30 percent of elderly individuals in institutions and, when assessed by symptom checklists, between 10 percent and 45 percent of elderly individuals in the community [1]. Conceptually and empirically, depression is negatively related to life satisfaction, morale, and well-being [2]. The present study was designed to investigate the potential social causes, as opposed to biological and genetic causes, of depression in elderly individuals [3].
