Gender differences in loneliness and isolation among older people: a mixed methods study into older men's propensity to acknowledge loneliness

孤独是一个问题，“特别与老年、变老和晚年生活有关”（维克托和杨2012，第85页）。此外，研究表明，男性相对不愿意承认和/或寻求多种身体和心理问题的帮助（麦肯齐等人，2007年;约翰逊等人，2012年）。因此，老年人可能特别容易感到孤独，但不太可能承认或寻求帮助。因此，为了帮助政策制定者和服务提供者促进老年男性更好的福祉，调查老年男性承认孤独或寻求帮助的倾向以及他们倾向背后的原因至关重要。研究问题：1。老年男性总体上比数据显示的更孤独吗？2.为什么老年男性比老年女性更不可能说他们孤独？方法采用Creswell和Plano Clark（2011）的“解释性序贯设计”进行混合方法研究。具体来说，这涉及进行初步研究，分析它，然后进行第二次研究，详细说明和“解释”的结果。在这方面，这将包括一项调查，然后是半结构化的访谈，这是现有的最佳方法，原因有三。首先，调查可以测试De Jong-Gierveld等人（2016）的假设（即男性在回答直接问题时比在回答直接问题时更孤独）是否在单一样本人群中是真实的。其次，基于Ratcliffe（2017）定性研究结果的态度陈述也可以包括在调查中，从而比Ratcliffe的定性研究更广泛，更普遍地调查男性气质与孤独之间的关系（Bryman 2016）。最后，与调查对象进行定性访谈，可以比单独进行问卷调查更好地结合具体情况得出更有意义的结论，特别是在统计数据的有效性不确定的情况下（克雷斯韦尔和普莱诺·克拉克，2011年; De Jong-Gierveld et al 2016）。调查一项横断面研究，至少有100名男性和100名女性，年龄65岁以上，将通过以下部分或全部组织随机抽样：约克NHS研发（R&D）团队;西约克郡NHS研发团队; YorkCVS，一个与约克合作并促进社区服务的组织;以及英国年龄。关于采样和分配的选项的进一步详细信息，请参见“拟议实地工作”部分。该调查将包括四个部分：人口统计学;关于孤独的单一直接问题;孤独量表，由De Jong-Gierveld等人（2016）确定为提供比直接问题更小的孤独性别差异（特别是20项UCLA量表）;以及关于孤独在多大程度上是一种从属的社会角色的态度陈述，与心灵的力量，关怀和责任感不相容。数据将在SPSS中进行分析，主要假设是：1。一个男人，与一个女人一样的孤独分数，将不太可能在回答直接的问题时说他是孤独的。具体来说，在回归中，UCLA分数和性别是自变量，孤独感的直接问题是因变量，男性将显示出显著的P值。2.男性更有可能表示：a）孤独是一个从属角色，而B）“意志力”、c）“关怀”和d）“责任感”是与角色不相容的性别要求。3.孤独作为一个从属角色的结构，以及“心灵的力量”，“关怀”和“责任”与之不相容，导致男人不愿意在回答直接问题时说他们是孤独的。因此，当重要的态度陈述被添加到用于假设1的回归中时，性别将不再是一个重要变量。

IntroductionLoneliness is a problem 'particularly associated with old age, growing older, and later life' (Victor and Yang 2012, p85). Furthermore, studies have shown men to be relatively unwilling to acknowledge and/or seek help for a multitude of physical and psychological problems (Mackenzie et al 2007; Johnson et al 2012). Older men, then, may be particularly likely to feel lonely, but unlikely to acknowledge or seek-help for feelings of loneliness. Therefore, to assist policy-makers and service providers promote better well-being in older men, it is vital to investigate older men's propensity to acknowledge or seek help for loneliness, and the reasons behind their propensity. Research Questions:1. Are older men aggregately lonelier than data suggests?2. Why are older men less likely to state they are lonely than older women?MethodologyA mixed-methods study, following Creswell and Plano Clark's (2011) 'explanatory sequential design', will be employed. Specifically, this involves conducting an initial study, analysing it, then conducting a second study to elaborate on and 'explain' the results. In this context, this will consist of a survey, followed by semi-structured interviews, and is the best available methodology for three reasons. Firstly, a survey can test whether De Jong-Gierveld et al's (2016) hypothesis (that men indicate they are lonelier on a scale than in response to a direct question) is true within a single sample of people. Secondly, attitudinal statements, based on Ratcliffe's (2017) qualitative findings, can also be included in the survey, allowing for a broader, more generalisable investigation into the relationship between masculinities and loneliness than Ratcliffe's qualitative study (Bryman 2016). Lastly, conducting qualitative interviews with survey respondents can facilitate better contextualised and more meaningful conclusions than a questionnaire alone could, particularly in this context where the validity of statistical data is uncertain (Cresswell and Plano Clark 2011; De Jong-Gierveld et al 2016).SurveyA cross-sectional study, of at least 100 men and 100 women, aged 65+, will be randomly sampled via some or all of the following organisations: the York NHS research and development (R&D) team; the West Yorkshire NHS R&D team; YorkCVS, an organisation that works with and promotes community services across York; and Age UK. Further detail on options for sampling and distribution is available in the 'proposed fieldwork' section. The survey will consist of four sections: demographics; a single, direct question on loneliness; a loneliness scale which was identified by De Jong-Gierveld et al (2016) as providing a smaller gender difference in loneliness than a direct question (specifically, the 20 item UCLA scale); and attitudinal statements on the extent to which loneliness is a subordinate social role, incompatible with strength of mind, caring, and responsibility. The data will be analysed in SPSS, and the key hypotheses are:1. A man, with the same loneliness score as a woman, will be less likely to state he is lonely in response to the direct question. Specifically, in a regression, where UCLA score and gender are independent variables, and the direct question on loneliness is the dependent variable, men will show significant P value. 2. Men will be more likely to indicate that a) loneliness is a subordinate role, and that b) 'strength of mind', c) 'caring', and d) 'responsibility' are gendered requirements incompatible with the role. 3. The construction of loneliness as a subordinate role, and that 'strength of mind', 'caring', and 'responsibility' are incompatible with it, cause men's disinclination to state they are lonely in response to a direct question. As such, when the significant attitudinal statements are added to the regression used for hypothesis 1, gender will no longer be a significant variable.