Arimoto Azusa, Tadaka Etsuko
Department of Community Health Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0004, Japan.
Department of Community and Public Health Nursing, Graduate School of Health Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N12-W5, Kitaku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan.
BMC Womens Health. 2021 May 31;21(1):226. doi: 10.1186/s12905-021-01365-7.
Loneliness in mothers raising children under 3 years of age is a major challenge. The purpose of this study was to identify the individual, family, and community factors associated with loneliness among mothers raising children under 3 years of age with social isolation as a mediator.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted using anonymous self-administered questionnaires. The target population was all 649 mothers of children under 3 years of age visiting a public health center in Yokohama City and eligible for child health examinations between November 2019 and February 2020. The study measures included loneliness (10-item version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale), social isolation (Lubben Social Network Scale [LSNS-6]), demographic data, individual factors, family factors, and community factors from an ecological systems model. Social isolation was classified based on the LSNS-6 cutoff points. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between loneliness and individual, family, and community factors with social isolation as a mediator.
A total of 531 participants (81.8% response rate) responded, and 492 (75.8% valid response rate) were included in the analysis. Loneliness was significantly higher in the isolated group (n = 171, 34.8%) than in the non-isolated group (n = 321, 65.2%) (mean = 22.3, SD = 5.6 and mean = 17.6, SD = 4.6, respectively). Factors associated with high loneliness included individual and family factors (a high number of parenting and life concerns [β = 0.211, p < 0.01], not eating breakfast every day [β = 0.087, p < 0.05], and fewer partners' supportive behaviors for household duties and childcare [β = - 0.240, p < 0.001]) and community factors (fewer people to consult about parenting [β = - 0.104, p < 0.01] and low community commitment [β = - 0.122, p < 0.05]) with social isolation as a mediator.
Referral to a counseling organization to alleviate worries about parenting and the creation of a child-rearing environment to enhance the recognition of the community may be considered. These findings could help develop intervention programs for the prevention or alleviation of loneliness experienced by mothers and prevent the associated health risks among mothers and child outcomes.
抚养3岁以下儿童的母亲的孤独感是一项重大挑战。本研究的目的是确定与抚养3岁以下儿童的母亲孤独感相关的个人、家庭和社区因素，并将社会隔离作为中介因素。
采用匿名自填问卷进行横断面调查。目标人群为2019年11月至2020年2月期间前往横滨市公共卫生中心就诊且符合儿童健康检查条件的所有649名3岁以下儿童的母亲。研究测量指标包括孤独感（UCLA孤独感量表10项版本）、社会隔离（鲁本社会网络量表[LSNS-6]）、人口统计学数据、个人因素、家庭因素以及生态系统模型中的社区因素。根据LSNS-6的临界值对社会隔离进行分类。进行多元回归分析，以检验孤独感与个人、家庭和社区因素之间的关联，并将社会隔离作为中介因素。
共有531名参与者（回复率81.8%）做出回应，其中492名（有效回复率75.8%）纳入分析。隔离组（n = 171，34.8%）的孤独感显著高于非隔离组（n = 321，65.2%）（分别为均值 = 22.3，标准差 = 5.6和均值 = 17.6，标准差 = 4.6）。与高孤独感相关的因素包括个人和家庭因素（育儿和生活担忧较多[β = 0.211，p < 0.01]、并非每天吃早餐[β = 0.087，p < 0.05]以及伴侣对家务和育儿的支持行为较少[β = -0.240，p < 0.001]）和社区因素（育儿方面可咨询的人较少[β = -0.104，p < 0.01]以及社区参与度较低[β = -0.122，p < 0.05]），社会隔离作为中介因素。
可以考虑转介至咨询机构以减轻育儿担忧，并营造育儿环境以提高社区认同感。这些研究结果有助于制定干预方案，预防或减轻母亲所经历的孤独感，并预防母亲及儿童相关健康风险。
