老年人睡眠质量与孤独及社会支持的相关性研究

目的了解广州市社区老年人睡眠质量与孤独及社会支持的关系。方法应用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数量表(PSQI)、UCLA孤独量表、社会支持评定量表(SSRS)对131名老年人进行问卷调查。结果PSQI总分平均分为(6.94±3.81)分,孤独平均分为(39.11±11.49)分,社会支持总分平均分为(35.65±8.05)分。孤独与PSQI总分及因子睡眠时间、睡眠效率、催眠药物的评分正相关;社会支持总分与PSQI总分及因子睡眠质量、入睡时间、睡眠时间、睡眠效率、睡眠障碍的评分负相关。结论孤独和社会支持对老年人的睡眠质量有重要影响,减轻老年人的孤独感和增加社会支持对改善睡眠质量有积极意义。     

Staying Connected: The Lived Experiences of Volunteers and Older Adults

Many housebound older adults lack meaningful social relationships. In this study we explore the phenomenon of social connectedness in the volunteer-older adult relationship through the experiences of frail and isolated older adults and volunteers. We conceptualise this relationship as a journey whereby each traveller plays an active role in its direction and outcome. The emergent phenomenological essence of social connectedness from these dyad’s narratives provides meaning for both differences and similarities into the way the construct is conceptualised. When volunteers maintain the boundaries of the relationship through structured conversation and visits, it is described as friendly. Transgressing the boundaries involves doing extra for the elder and is both a function of the dyad’s compatibility, and the volunteer’s sense of ongoing agency and lack of elder expectations. The sense of social connectedness inherent in these relationships often feels like that of friendship or family, and these relationships are perceived as meaningful and close for both parties. Social connectedness in family-like relationships is a function of the playing out of an otherwise missing family role. However, if volunteer volition is compromised, this results in feelings of obligation and responsibility, similar to the dynamic between blood relatives. Participants’ narratives suggest that when the boundaries of the relationship are mutually negotiated, this serves to strengthen the relationship’s socioemotional quality, and potential for the continuity of the unique sense of social connectedness that has already been established.

国内外孤独的研究现状

孤独作为一种消极的情绪体验,近30年来受到研究者的关注,是精神医学和心理学研究的热点之一。对于孤独的概念,分类和测量评估,各国学者观点不一。但多数人认为孤独是人群中普遍存在的认知和体验。因此,深入理解孤独的要领以及国内外研究进展,探讨如何应对孤独具有重要意义。本文着重于近十年来关于孤独概念,分类,测量,孤独的应对及相关影响因素的研究。     

城市"空巢"老人与孤独现象的实证研究

[目的]分析"空巢"与城市老人孤独感之间的关系及影响老人孤独感的因素。[方法]运用对烟台市230位城市老人的问卷调查数据,进行交叉分析和回归分析。[结果]"空巢"与老人的孤独感没有统计意义上的相关关系;大多数的老人自愿选择与子女分住;代际间的交往受居住距离的影响;影响老人孤独感的主要因素有婚姻状况、子女是否孝顺及对自己赡养现状和子女照顾的满意度等。[结论]在烟台市,"空巢"对老人的孤独感没有显著的影响,而婚姻状况和子女是否孝顺是影响老年孤独感最为重要的因素。另外,居住距离是老人与子女交往的制约因素。     

The impact of the built environment on loneliness: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

Loneliness is a pressing public health issue. Although quintessentially individual, it is shaped by wider environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and political circumstances. Using a systematic review methodology, this paper draws on interdisciplinary research to conceptualise the relationship between the built environment and loneliness. We present a narrative synthesis of 57 relevant studies to characterise the body of evidence and highlight specific built-environment elements. Our findings demonstrate the need for further conceptual and empirical explorations of the multifaceted ways in which built environments can prevent loneliness, supporting calls for investment into this public-health approach.     

Experience of loneliness in Iranian abused elders

HERAVI‐KARIMOOI M., REJEH N., FOROUGHAN M. & VAISMORADI M. (2011) Experience of loneliness in Iranian abused elders. International Nursing Review 59 , 139–145 Aim: This study aimed to explore the experience of loneliness in Iranian abused elderly people. Methods: A qualitative design was employed to collect and analyse data regarding the experience of loneliness in abused elderly people living in an urban area of Iran. A purposeful sampling strategy was applied. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were held with 14 participants (five men and nine women) until the data richness was fulfilled. The data were analysed using the Colaizzi method. Findings: Three main themes emerged as follows: ‘feeling of pain and suffering’, ‘feeling of being an outsider’ and ‘feeling of deprivation’. A discrepancy existed between how the participants had imagined their lives in later life and how they actually lived them. Conclusion: The combination of abuse, old age and deprivation increased suffering and pain, which accompanied the loneliness experience in older people. The findings suggest that nurses need to address factors such as abuse, neglect and deprivation influencing the experience of loneliness during the assessment of their elder patients. This may help them to devise strategies for preventing abuse or alleviating the sense of loneliness in elderly people.     

积极独处及其心理学意义

本文在总结前人研究的基础上提出了积极独处这个概念。积极独处是一种人格特征,指个体在拥有良好的人际交往的同时,也喜欢为自己保留一些时间独处的行为倾向。积极独处与孤僻和社交回避不同,它是个体一种有目的的主动选择并且伴有积极的情感体验。     

“We see each other from a distance”: Neighbourhood social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic matter for older adults’ social connectedness

IntroductionWe extend previous research to illustrate how individual, interpersonal and neighbourhood factors in a high-density urban setting in Vancouver, Canada, shape social connectedness experiences of community-dwelling older adults during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe conducted 31 semi-structured interviews and collected objective measures of loneliness and social connectedness (surveys).ResultsThree dimensions of the neighbourhood environment influenced social connectedness: (i) interactions with neighbours, (ii) involvement with neighbourhood-based organizations, and (ii) outdoor pedestrian spaces. Seventy-one percent of participants felt a strong sense of belonging to their local community, while 39% were classified as high or extremely lonely.SummaryMany participants leveraged pre-existing social ties to maintain connections during the pandemic. However, volunteer outreach was vital for more isolated older adults. Although many participants felt lonely and isolated at times, the relative ease and accessibility with which they could connect with others in their neighbourhood environment, may have helped mitigate persistent loneliness.ConclusionStrategies that foster social connectedness over the longer term, need to prioritize the needs of older adults who face multiple barriers to equitable social participation.