Mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging among community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses: an actor–partner interdependence mediation model analysis
4 affiliations
- 1School of Nursing, Chengdu Medical College
- 2Key Laboratory of Intelligent Medical Care and Elderly Health Management
- 3Department of Gastroenterology, Chengdu Eighth People’s Hospital
- 4Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu Eighth People's Hospital
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the dyadic relationships among mental health literacy, ego depletion self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging in community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM).
Methods: A convenience sample of 221 dyads consisting of older adults with diabetes and their spouses was recruited from six communities in Chengdu, China, between October 2025 and April 2026. Data were collected using the General Information Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Measure (MMHL-CV), the Self-Regulatory Fatigue Scale (SRF-S), and the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ). An APIMeM was constructed using Mplus 8.3 to investigate actor and partner effects among mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging.
Results: The mean mental health literacy scores of older adults with diabetes and their spouses were 12.12 ± 7.35 and 12.04 ± 7.23, respectively. The corresponding self-regulatory fatigue scores were 50.81 ± 15.72 and 49.42 ± 14.73, while the attitudes toward aging scores were 68.04 ± 21.32 and 68.48 ± 19.53, respectively. The Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) showed that mental health literacy was positively associated with both individuals’ own and their partners’ attitudes toward aging, and was negatively associated with both their own and their partners’ self-regulatory fatigue. In addition, self-regulatory fatigue was negatively associated with both individuals’ own and their partners’ attitudes toward aging (all p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging were significantly associated within community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses. Healthcare professionals should consider patients and their spouses as a dyadic health unit when designing comprehensive psychological support programs. Family-centered interventions may be associated with better psychological well-being and favorable healthy and positive aging.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026mental,
title = {{Mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging among community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses: an actor–partner interdependence mediation model analysis}},
author = {Pingxia Yu and Shiwen Wu and Hua Zhou and Quan Wen},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1943940},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1943940/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging among community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses: an actor–partner interdependence mediation model analysis
AU - Pingxia Yu
AU - Shiwen Wu
AU - Hua Zhou
AU - Quan Wen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1943940
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1943940/full
AB - Objective: This study aimed to examine the dyadic relationships among mental health literacy, ego depletion self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging in community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM). Methods: A convenience sample of 221 dyads consisting of older adults with diabetes and their spouses was recruited from six communities in Chengdu, China, between October 2025 and April 2026. Data were collected using the General Information Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Measure (MMHL-CV), the Self-Regulatory Fatigue Scale (SRF-S), and the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ). An APIMeM was constructed using Mplus 8.3 to investigate actor and partner effects among mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging. Results: The mean mental health literacy scores of older adults with diabetes and their spouses were 12.12 ± 7.35 and 12.04 ± 7.23, respectively. The corresponding self-regulatory fatigue scores were 50.81 ± 15.72 and 49.42 ± 14.73, while the attitudes toward aging scores were 68.04 ± 21.32 and 68.48 ± 19.53, respectively. The Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) showed that mental health literacy was positively associated with both individuals’ own and their partners’ attitudes toward aging, and was negatively associated with both their own and their partners’ self-regulatory fatigue. In addition, self-regulatory fatigue was negatively associated with both individuals’ own and their partners’ attitudes toward aging (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mental health literacy, self-regulatory fatigue, and attitudes toward aging were significantly associated within community-dwelling older adults with diabetes and their spouses. Healthcare professionals should consider patients and their spouses as a dyadic health unit when designing comprehensive psychological support programs. Family-centered interventions may be associated with better psychological well-being and favorable healthy and positive aging.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -