{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T09:04:19Z","timestamp":1784192659324,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"Korean Neuropsychiatric Association","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783555200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2022-NR070856"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2022-NR070856"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100014188","name":"Ministry of Science and ICT","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100014188","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002462","name":"Chungnam National University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002462","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["psychiatryinvestigation.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Psychiatry Investig"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,25]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Objective This study examined whether depressive symptoms mediate the association between loneliness and subjective memory complaints (SMCs), and whether meaning in life (MIL) moderates this pathway, among middle-aged and older Korean adults.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 580 adults aged 41\u201371 years (mean age=58.80; 54.8% males). Participants completed measures of loneliness, depression, SMCs, and MIL. Mediation (PROCESS Model 4) and moderated mediation (Model 7) analyses were performed using 5,000 bootstrap resamples while adjusting for demographic covariates. Supplementary analyses examined MLQ subscales (Presence and Search for Meaning) and age-stratified models.Results Loneliness was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (\u03b2=0.523, p&lt;0.001) and SMCs (\u03b2=0.131, p=0.008). Depression was also associated with SMCs (\u03b2=0.200, p&lt;0.001) and partially mediated the loneliness\u2013SMCs link (indirect effect=0.011; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.006, 0.018]). The index of moderated mediation was significant (index=-0.0002, 95% CI [-0.0004, -0.0001]). MIL moderated the loneliness\u2013depression association (interaction B=-0.005, p&lt;0.001), with a stronger slope at low MIL (B=0.237) than at high MIL (B=0.148). Subscale analyses showed similar patterns for presence and search when tested separately, but neither showed a unique moderating effect when entered simultaneously. Age-stratified analyses showed depression mediated the loneliness\u2013SMCs link only in older adults, whereas MIL attenuated the loneliness\u2013depression association only in middle-aged adults.Conclusion Loneliness was associated with SMCs partly through depressive symptoms, and MIL may buffer this pathway. These mechanisms differed by life stage, with stronger evidence for depression as a mediator in later life than in midlife, suggesting age-tailored approaches targeting emotional distress and life purpose.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.30773\/pi.2025.0326","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T01:03:32Z","timestamp":1783645412000},"page":"892-902","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.30773\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Loneliness, Depression, and Subjective Memory Complaints in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: The Role of Meaning in Life"],"prefix":"10.30773","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8505-6934","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Seung Chul","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3085-0658","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sungkun","family":"Cho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4976-0882","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yerin","family":"Shim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9679-1713","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dae-Hyun","family":"Yun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sport Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6393-8026","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Taehyun","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, E-Lum Hospital, Bucheon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2820-7591","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Soo Rim","family":"Noh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"12228","reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00406-014-0539-z","type":"journal-article"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"33","type":"journal-article","volume-title":"Subjective memory complaints, cortical thinning, and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged adults at risk for 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