Cross-National Differences in Older Adult Loneliness
Cross-National Differences in Older Adult Loneliness
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DOI：
10.1080/00223980.2011.631612
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发表时间：
2012-01-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Dykstra, Pearl A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Fokkema, Tineke;Gierveld, Jenny De Jong;Dykstra, Pearl A.
孤独是一种主观评价，认为人际关系的数量少于个人所期望的数量，或者认为个人所希望的亲密关系尚未实现。这项研究的目的是评估欧洲各地晚年孤独程度的变化及其决定因素。数据来自SHARE调查第二波（Borsch-Supan et al., 2008），包括奥地利、比利时、捷克共和国、丹麦、法国、德国、希腊、爱尔兰、意大利、荷兰、波兰、西班牙、瑞典和瑞士的50岁及以上成年人（N = 12,248）。孤独感是通过ce - d（抑郁）量表中的一个单项来测量的。使用逻辑模型，本文作者测试了几种解释国家差异的类型：人口特征、财富和健康以及社会网络的差异。南欧和中欧国家的老年人通常比北欧和西欧国家的同龄人更孤独。在南欧和中欧国家，孤独主要归因于未婚、经济贫困和健康状况不佳。在几乎所有国家，与父母和成年子女的频繁接触、社会参与以及向家庭成员提供支持对于预防和减轻孤独感都很重要。为了消除老年人的孤独感，研究结果建议采用(a)旨在改善社会融入的通用方法和(b)旨在改善健康和财富的国家定制方法。
Loneliness concerns the subjective evaluation that the number of relationships is smaller than the individual considers desirable or that the intimacy that the individual wishes for has not been realized. The aim of this study was to assess variations in levels of late-life loneliness and its determinants across Europe. Data came from the SHARE surveys, Wave 2 (Borsch-Supan et al., 2008), encompassing adults aged 50 years and over in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland (N = 12,248). Loneliness was measured by a single item derived from the CES-D (depression) scale. Using logistic models, the present authors tested several types of explanations for country differences: differences in demographic characteristics, wealth and health, and social networks. Older adults in the southern and central European countries were generally lonelier than their peers in the northern and western European countries. In the southern and central European countries, loneliness was largely attributable to not being married, economic deprivation, and poor health. Frequent contacts with parents and adult children, social participation, and providing support to family members were important in preventing and alleviating loneliness in almost all countries. To combat loneliness among older adults, the findings suggest both (a) generic approaches aimed at improving social embeddedness and (b) country-tailored approaches aimed at improving health and wealth.