• Korean Journal of Gerontological Social Welfare
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• v.73 no.4
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• pp.181-216
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of subjective differences in age (difference between subjective age and chronological age) and self-perceptions of aging (differences between chronological age and age in the elderly) on depression. Also, we confirm the moderating effect of gender and age groups(young-old, old-old, and oldest-old). The subjects of this study were 547 older adults aged 65 and over who use a senior welfare center or day-care center for the elderly in the Seoul metropolitan area. The results of this study showed that depression was higher when differences between subjective age and chronological age, and self-perceptions of aging were higher. Also, the age groups showed a moderating effect in relation to differences between subjective age and chronological age on depression. In addition, the moderating effect of gender on differences between self-perceptions of aging and depression was confirmed. In the young-old population, when the subjective age was higher than the chronological age, the level of depression rapidly increased, on the other hand, the level of depression of the oldest-old population decreased. When differences in self-perceptions of aging were higher, men showed more signs of depression than women. This study is significant in that it confirms the importance of subjective perception of old age rather than only chronological age.Based on the results of this study, we propose a practical intervention plan and social discourse on aging and the perception thereof in later life.