Table 2.
Mental health and social support by age group
| Mental health | Total | Age groups | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–44 | 45–64 | 65–74 | 75 years and over | ||||||||
| mean ± SD | min–max | mean ± SD | min–max | mean ± SD | min–max | mean ± SD | min–max | mean ± SD | min–max | p-value | |
| Well-being index (WHO-5) | 69.2 ± 18.1 | 0–100 | 74.3 ± 15.3 | 28–100 | 66.5 ± 18.3 | 4–100 | 70.8 ± 18.3 | 0–100 | 63 ± 18.5 | 0–100 | < 0.001 |
| Single-item Life Satisfaction Scale (LS) | 7.5 ± 1.9 | 0–10 | 8.0 ± 1.6 | 2–10 | 7.4 ± 1.9 | 1–10 | 7.4 ± 2.0 | 0–10 | 7.0 ± 2.0 | 2–10 | < 0.001 |
| Psychological distress (GHQ-12) | 9.7 ± 5.1 | 0–36 | 8.6 ± 4.3 | 1–36 | 9.6 ± 4.9 | 0–36 | 9.7 ± 4.9 | 0–36 | 11.5 ± 6.0 | 1–34 | < 0.001 |
| Social support | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | p-value |
| Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3) | |||||||||||
| poor | 140 | 16.9% | 27 | 13.3% | 44 | 22.2% | 49 | 17.1% | 20 | 14.0% | |
| moderate | 455 | 54.8% | 112 | 55.2% | 107 | 54.0% | 151 | 52.8% | 85 | 59.4% | 0.169 |
| high | 235 | 28.3% | 64 | 31.5% | 47 | 23.7% | 86 | 30.1% | 38 | 26.6% | |
| Support in personal matters | |||||||||||
| yes | 804 | 95.3% | 196 | 96.1% | 190 | 92.2% | 280 | 96.9% | 138 | 95.2% | 0.103 |
| no | 40 | 4.7% | 8 | 3.9% | 16 | 7.8% | 9 | 3.1% | 7 | 4.8% | |
Statistically significant results (p < 0.05) are shown in bold. WHO-5, 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index; GHQ-12, 12-item General Health Questionnaire; SD, standard deviation