Objective  To investigate the influence of depression and family-centered care on self-aging perception among the elderly and to provide evidences for improving family support, relieving depressive emotion and decreasing perceived self-aging in the elderly.

  Methods  A total of 1 371 residents age 60 years or older were selected in a community of Fuxing district, Handan municipality of Hebei province using stratified random cluster sampling and surveyed with a general questionnaire, Family Care Index Scale (APGRA), Aging Perception Questionnaire-Chinese Version, and 15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) between October 2015 and March 2016.

  Results  Among the elderly, 206 reported depressive emotion, with a depression prevalence of 15.47 %. The proportion of the elderly reporting good family-centered care was 92.27 % (1 129/1 332). The mean score of self-aging perception was 105.26 ± 11.62 for the elderly reporting depressive emotion and a significantly higher self-aging perception score (106.14 ± 11.60) was observed among the elderly reporting poor family-centered care (P < 0.05). The results of multivariate stepwise regression demonstrated that family-centered care and depression were influencing factors for self-aging perception among the elderly.

  Conclusion  Depression and poor family-centered care could promote self-aging perception in elderly people.