Health Sciences Center South, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-9620, USA.
J Psychol. 2012 Jan-Apr;146(1-2):155-71. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2011.609571.
This study's purpose was to describe loneliness and to examine the relationships between loneliness, depression, social support, and QOL in chronically ill, older Appalachians. In-person interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 60 older, chronically ill, community-dwelling, and rural adults. Those with dementia or active grief were excluded. The UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1985), Geriatric Depression Scale (Shiekh & Yesavage, 1986), Katz ADL scale (Katz, Down, & Cash, 1970), MOS Social Support Scale (Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991), and a visual analog scale for Quality of Life (Spitzer et al., 1981) scale were used. Diagnoses were obtained through chart reviews. SPSS was used for data analyses. The majority of the 65% female sample (M age = 75 years) were married and impoverished. Participants' number of chronic illnesses averaged more than 3. Over 88% of participants reported at least 1 area of functional impairment. Loneliness was prevalent with UCLA loneliness scores indicating moderate to high loneliness, ranging from 39 to 62 (possible scores were 20-80). Higher loneliness scores correlated with depression, lower Qol, and lower social support, particularly lower emotional support. This study provides evidence that loneliness is a significant problem for older chronically ill Appalachian adults and that it may be related to low emotional support. Further, it provides evidence that this population may be significantly lonely and may not self-identify as lonely. Screening for loneliness and designing interventions that target the emotional aspects of loneliness could be important in this population.
本研究旨在描述孤独感，并探讨孤独感、抑郁、社会支持与慢性疾病老年阿巴拉契亚人的生活质量之间的关系。采用方便抽样法对 60 名患有慢性疾病、居住在社区且居住在农村的老年、慢性疾病成年人进行了面对面访谈。排除了痴呆症或活跃悲伤的患者。采用了加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表（Russell、Peplau 和 Cutrona，1985）、老年抑郁量表（Shiekh 和 Yesavage，1986）、Katz 日常生活活动量表（Katz、Down 和 Cash，1970）、MOS 社会支持量表（Sherbourne 和 Stewart，1991）和生活质量视觉模拟量表（Spitzer 等人，1981）。通过病历回顾获得诊断。使用 SPSS 进行数据分析。在 65%的女性样本（M 年龄=75 岁）中，大多数已婚且贫困。参与者的慢性疾病数量平均超过 3 种。超过 88%的参与者报告至少有 1 个功能受损领域。孤独感很普遍，UCLA 孤独量表的分数表明存在中度至高度的孤独感，范围从 39 到 62（可能的分数为 20-80）。孤独感评分越高，与抑郁、生活质量越低和社会支持越低相关，尤其是情感支持越低。本研究为慢性疾病老年阿巴拉契亚成年人孤独感是一个严重问题提供了证据，并且可能与情感支持不足有关。此外，它还提供了证据表明，这一人群可能非常孤独，并且可能不自认为孤独。对孤独感进行筛查，并设计针对孤独感情感方面的干预措施，可能对这一人群非常重要。
