Comorbid depressive and anxiety symptomatology in older adults: The role of aging self-stereotypes, loneliness, and feelings of guilt associated with self-perception as a burden

• María del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro ^[1] ; Isabel Cabrera ^[1] ; María Márquez-González ^[1] ; Óscar Ribeiro ^[2] ; Andrés Losada-Baltar ^[3]
  1. [1] Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Madrid, España

     
  2. [2] Universidade de Aveiro

     Universidade de Aveiro

     Vera Cruz, Portugal

     
  3. [3] Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

     Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

     Madrid, España

     

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• Localización: The Spanish Journal of Psychology, ISSN 1138-7416, Nº 26, 2023
• Idioma: inglés
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  • The main objective of this study was to analyze the differences between older adults’ symptom profiles (subclinical, anxiety, depressive, and comorbid) in negative aging self-stereotypes, loneliness, and feelings of guilt associated with self-perception as a burden. Participants were 310 community-dwelling people aged 60 years and over. The sample was grouped into four symptom profiles of older adults: anxiety, depressive, comorbid anxiety-depression, and subclinical symptoms. We carried out multinomial logistic regression analyses to analyze the role of assessed variables in the explanation of the four symptom profiles. Older adults who reported a comorbid symptomatology presented higher negative aging self-stereotypes and feelings of loneliness than the other three profiles. Compared with the subclinical profile, older adults who reported clinical symptomatology (anxiety, depressive, and comorbid profile) presented higher feelings of guilt associated with self-perception as a burden. The findings of this study suggest potential associations that may contribute to understanding and treating comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms in older adults.