Hawkley Louise C, Hughes Mary Elizabeth, Waite Linda J, Masi Christopher M, Thisted Ronald A, Cacioppo John T
Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Biopsychological Sciences Building, 940 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2008 Nov;63(6):S375-84. doi: 10.1093/geronb/63.6.s375.
The objective of this study was to test a conceptual model of loneliness in which social structural factors are posited to operate through proximal factors to influence perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness.
We used a population-based sample of 225 White, Black, and Hispanic men and women aged 50 through 68 from the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study to examine the extent to which associations between sociodemographic factors and loneliness were explained by socioeconomic status, physical health, social roles, stress exposure, and, ultimately, by network size and subjective relationship quality.
Education and income were negatively associated with loneliness and explained racial/ethnic differences in loneliness. Being married largely explained the association between income and loneliness, with positive marital relationships offering the greatest degree of protection against loneliness. Independent risk factors for loneliness included male gender, physical health symptoms, chronic work and/or social stress, small social network, lack of a spousal confidant, and poor-quality social relationships.
Longitudinal research is needed to evaluate the causal role of social structural and proximal factors in explaining changes in loneliness.
本研究的目的是检验一个孤独感概念模型，在该模型中，社会结构因素被假定通过近端因素来影响对人际关系质量和孤独感的认知。
我们使用了来自芝加哥健康、老龄化与社会关系研究的225名年龄在50至68岁之间的白人、黑人及西班牙裔男性和女性作为基于人群的样本，以检验社会人口学因素与孤独感之间的关联在多大程度上可由社会经济地位、身体健康状况、社会角色、压力暴露，以及最终由社交网络规模和主观人际关系质量来解释。
教育程度和收入与孤独感呈负相关，并解释了孤独感方面的种族/民族差异。婚姻状况在很大程度上解释了收入与孤独感之间的关联，积极的婚姻关系能提供最大程度的抵御孤独感的保护。孤独感的独立风险因素包括男性、身体健康症状、长期工作和/或社会压力、社交网络规模小、缺乏配偶知己以及低质量的社会关系。
需要进行纵向研究来评估社会结构和近端因素在解释孤独感变化方面的因果作用。
