중·장년층의 사회적 고립이 우울과 위험 음주에 미치는 영향: 종단적 상호인과관계 검증 = The Impact of Social Isolation on Depression and Risky Drinking in Middle-aged Adults: A Longitudinal Cross-lagged Relationship Analysis

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aimed to explore intervention strategies for improving the quality of life of middle-aged adults by examining the longitudinal changes in depression and risky drinking and the impact of social isolation on these variables. For the analysis, an autoregressive cross-lagged model (ARCL) was tested using data from 865 participants, collected over the 7th to 9th waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) conducted by the Korea Labor Institute, targeting the middle-aged and older population. The findings were as follows. First, social isolation had a direct impact on depression in middle-aged adults. Second, depression and risky drinking among middle-aged and elderly people showed a strong autoregressive effect over time. Third, it was found that depression and risky drinking among middle-aged and elderly people were mutually influenced other over time, which showed that depression and risky drinking among middle-aged and elderly people formed a vicious cycle and were important factors in exacerbating mental health problems. This study highlighted the cyclical relationship between depression and risky drinking in middle-aged adults and revealed that the pathways through which social isolation affected depression and risky drinking were different. The study emphasizes the importance of targeted interventions in addressing these mental health challenges in practice.