Correlation Between Sociodemographic, Health, and Institutional Characteristics and Stress Levels Among Older Adults at Dewanata Cilacap Elderly Social Service Home

Abstract

Introduction: Perceived stress among residents of long-term care institutions may be influenced by demographic, health-related, and institutional characteristics. However, evidence regarding factors associated with perceived stress among institutionalized older adults in Indonesia remains limited. This study aimed to determine perceived stress levels and examine their associations with participant characteristics among residents aged 60 years and older at Dewanata Cilacap Elderly Social Service Home. Methods: This cross-sectional correlational study included 47 residents aged 60–90 years. Participants were recruited through complete enumeration of eligible residents. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Indonesian version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Items 4, 5, 7, and 8 were reverse-scored before calculating the total score. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 26. Categorical variables were summarized using frequencies and percentages, while numerical PSS-10 scores were summarized using measures of central tendency and dispersion. Associations between perceived stress categories and participant characteristics were examined using Fisher’s exact test or the Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test. Pearson’s correlation was used to examine the relationship between age and total PSS-10 score. Results: The mean participant age was 71.15 ± 7.20 years. The mean PSS-10 score was 11.91 ± 5.34, with a median of 12, an interquartile range of 8.5–16.5, and a score range of 0–22. Thirty-three participants (70.2%) had low perceived stress, 14 (29.8%) had moderate perceived stress, and none had high perceived stress. The PSS-10 demonstrated a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.628. No statistically significant associations were found between perceived stress category and sex, age group, educational level, chronic disease history, marital status, length of institutional stay, or reason for institutional residence (all p > 0.05). Age was also not significantly correlated with total PSS-10 score (r = −0.023; p = 0.879). Discussion: Most residents had low perceived stress, and perceived stress was not significantly associated with the demographic, health-related, or institutional characteristics examined. Psychological and social factors not assessed in this study, including loneliness, social support, coping ability, autonomy, and adjustment to institutional living, may better explain variations in perceived stress. The findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample, single-institution setting, and cross-sectional design.