本研究探討時間之變遷對臺灣老人生活壓力、社會支持、身心健康，以及對此三者間之關係產生的影響。使用之資料為臺灣省家庭計畫研究所於1989年及1993年，在全臺灣地區實施完成之「台灣地區老人保健與生活問題調查」及「臺灣地區老人保健與生活問題長期研究第二次調查」資料，兩次均完訪的3,155份有效樣本。綜合本研究的分析結果，可得以下幾點結論。第一、持續性生活壓力對老人身心健康的不良影響相當強且穩定，不因時間而減弱；不過隨著年齡增加，生活壓力與社會支持的關係有增強的趨勢：生活壓力愈大，社會支持的接受度愈高，但提供度愈少。第二、比較1989年及1993年的資料發現：在1993年，單身老人人數增加、子女人數減少、收入減少，依賴度、憂鬱度、生活不滿度、自覺不健康情形增加，但罹病程度降低，提供給別人的工具支持及情感支持減少，而別人提供的工具支持及情感支持增加。第三、社會支持授受平衡度、過多利益、過少利益的變遷對老人身心健康的影響並不明顯。第四、工具支持的接受度或提供度變遷情形對老人身心健康並無影響，情感支持接受度或提供度減少的老人比增加的老人身心健康情形變得差。第五、因果模型顯示生活壓力與老人身心健康、工具支持授受平衡度與老人身心健康互有因果關係，意味「時間」確為一重要不容忽視的因素。

This study examined the influences of time on stressors, social supports, and the mental and physical health of the elderly, and on the relationships among these variables. Data were collected from 3,155 elderly (60 years old or older) in Taiwan who responded to both the 1989and 1993 surveys of the health and living status of the elderly in Taiwan conducted by the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Family Planning. The result of our study are as follows: 1. Life stressors had a strong, durable, stable, and negative influences on the mental and physical health of the elderly. The relationship between stressors and social support also became stronger as the elderly grew older; however, even though support received in creased as the sterssors became greater, the support provided nonetheless decreased. 2. The number of single elderly, the degree of 'Activities of Daily Living', depression, dissatisfaction and self-assumed poor health, as well as the instrumental and emotional support received all incresed in 1993, while the number of children, income, the degree of disease, and the instrumental and emotional support provided decreased in the same year. 3. The transformation of the balanced, over-benefited or under-benefited support had no obvious influence on the mental and physical health of the elderly. 4. While the transformation of instrumental support received or provided had no impact on the health of the elderly, those elderly whose received or provided had no impact on the health of the elderly, those elderly whose recived or provided emotional support increased were healthier than those whose emtional support decreased. 5. The longitudinal causal model showed that the both stressors and the balance between received and provided instrumental support were causally related to health, a result which suggests that time is a significant factor and must be considered.