Better Understand to Better Predict Subjective Well-Being Among Older Greeks in COVID-19 Era: Depression, Anxiety, Attitudes Towards eHealth, Religiousness, Spiritual Experience, and Cognition

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2023:1425:359-364. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-31986-0_35.

Abstract

Despite similarities with previous pandemics, the potential physical and psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on older adults is still little investigated in Greece. This study examines the intercorrelations between subjective well-being/life satisfaction, depression, state anxiety, global cognitive function, attitudes towards eHealth, religiousness and spiritual experience in older adults during COVID-19. Results revealed that statistically significant negative correlations exist between subjective life satisfaction and depressive symptomatology as well as with religiousness, a finding that can be explained by the COVID-19 externally imposed religious practice restrictions. Subjective life satisfaction was positively correlated with overall cognition as measured by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). MMSE was also negatively correlated with state anxiety, depression, and attitudes towards eHealth use. The best predictors of subjective well-being is global cognition (as measured by MMSE) and depressive symptomatology (measured by GDS). The conclusions of this study underscore the need to examine in more detail psychological variables during COVID-19 and quality of life in older adults.

Keywords: Attitudes towards eHealth; Cognition; Depression; Religiousness; Spiritual experience; State anxiety; Subjective well-being.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Anxiety / diagnosis
  • Anxiety / epidemiology
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Attitude
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / psychology
  • Cognition
  • Depression* / diagnosis
  • Depression* / epidemiology
  • Depression* / psychology
  • Greece
  • Humans
  • Personal Satisfaction
  • Quality of Life
  • Religion
  • Spirituality
  • Telemedicine

Supplementary concepts

  • Greek people