Department of Sociology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Aging Ment Health. 2012;16(3):353-60. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2011.630373. Epub 2011 Nov 30.
A limited amount of information is available on how older adults cope with loneliness. Two ways of coping are distinguished here, i.e., active coping by improving relationships and regulative coping by lowering expectations about relationships. We explore how often older adults suggest these options to their lonely peers in various situations and to what extent individual resources influence their suggestions.
After introducing them to four vignettes of lonely individuals, discriminating with regard to age, partner status, and health, 1187 respondents aged 62-100 from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were asked whether this loneliness can be alleviated by using various ways of coping.
In general, both ways of coping were often suggested. However, regression analyses revealed that active coping was suggested less often to people who are older, in poor health, or lonely and by older adults who were employed in midlife and have high self-esteem. Regulative coping was suggested more often to people who are older and by older adults with a low educational level and with low mastery.
Coping with loneliness by actively removing the stressor is less often seen as an option for and by the people who could benefit most from it. This underlines the difficulty of combating loneliness.
关于老年人如何应对孤独感，相关信息有限。这里区分了两种应对方式，即通过改善人际关系的积极应对和通过降低对人际关系期望的调节应对。我们探讨了老年人在各种情况下向孤独的同龄人建议这些选择的频率，以及个体资源对他们建议的影响程度。
在向阿姆斯特丹纵向老龄化研究的 1187 名年龄在 62-100 岁的受访者介绍了四个孤独个体的情景描述（考虑到年龄、伴侣状况和健康状况的差异）后，我们询问他们这些孤独感是否可以通过各种应对方式来缓解。
总体而言，这两种应对方式经常被提及。然而，回归分析显示，对于年龄较大、身体状况较差或孤独的人，以及中年时就业且自尊心较高的老年人，积极应对的建议较少。调节应对更多地被年龄较大和受教育程度较低且掌握能力较低的老年人所建议。
通过积极消除压力源来应对孤独感，对于那些最需要帮助的人来说，这种方式不太被视为一种选择。这突显了克服孤独感的困难。
