Marquette University College of Nursing, 530 N. 16th Street Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA.
Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2012 Jun;26(3):214-24. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2011.09.007. Epub 2011 Dec 10.
Loneliness is often manifested by intense feelings of emptiness and abandonment and can lead to depression and suicide. The prevalence of loneliness in older adults is estimated to be 40%. This secondary analysis examined differences between elders reporting and elders not reporting loneliness and the effect of gender on resourcefulness and measures of physical and mental health within the context of L. C. Hawkley and J. T. Cacioppo's (2010) theoretical model of loneliness. A descriptive, comparative design was used to examine gender differences and associations among loneliness and indicators of physical and mental health. Results indicated that for overall health, and indicators of physical health (functional status and number chronic conditions), no significant differences were found between those who reported loneliness and those who reported no loneliness. There were significant differences, however, between lonely elders and nonlonely elders on indicators of mental health, including both anxiety and depressive symptoms. Differences between lonely elders and nonlonely elders on measures of resourcefulness approached significance. The findings from this study suggest that intervention programs designed to prevent or reduce loneliness in older adults may be beneficial for preserving their mental health.
孤独感常常表现为强烈的空虚感和被抛弃感，可能导致抑郁和自杀。据估计，老年人中孤独感的患病率为 40%。本二次分析考察了报告孤独感和未报告孤独感的老年人之间的差异，以及在 L. C. Hawkley 和 J. T. Cacioppo（2010）孤独感理论模型的背景下，性别对机智和身心健康测量指标的影响。采用描述性、比较设计来考察孤独感与身心健康指标之间的性别差异和关联。结果表明，在总体健康以及身体健康指标（功能状态和慢性疾病数量）方面，报告孤独感和未报告孤独感的老年人之间没有显著差异。然而，在心理健康指标上，包括焦虑和抑郁症状，孤独的老年人和不孤独的老年人之间存在显著差异。在机智测量方面，孤独的老年人和不孤独的老年人之间的差异接近显著。本研究的结果表明，旨在预防或减少老年人孤独感的干预计划可能有益于维护他们的心理健康。
