ABSTRACT

The present study aims to examine the effect of depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation and the mediatedmoderating effect of social relations through social trust among Korean older adults. Drawn for the 13th waveof the Korea Welfare Panel Study, our sample consists of a total of 3,436 older adults aged 60 and over.Results from binary logistic regression analysis were as follows: First, older adults who reported higher levels of depressive symptoms were more likely to have suicidal ideation and social relations moderated the relationshipbetween depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Second, older adults who reported higher levels of depressivesymptoms were more likely to have poor social trust. Third, the moderating effect of social relations was mediated by social trust in the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Findings suggest that it is necessary to build national- and community-level suicide prevention infrastructure for older adults by extending social capitals.