Henderson A S, Scott R, Kay D W
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1986 Jun;20(2):202-9. doi: 10.3109/00048678609161332.
In a community survey of the elderly in Hobart, persons who lived alone were compared to those who lived with others. Those who lived alone were more often widows and had had more education. They had markedly fewer close relationships but as much other social interaction. They reported that their personal networks were as adequate as other elderly persons, yet they experienced much more loneliness. They had no higher a prevalence of depressive disorders or dementia on DSM-III criteria, but they did have a higher frequency of neurotic depression and some depressive symptoms, of which loneliness was one. Contrary to what might intuitively be expected, the elderly who live along may not be a group at increased risk for formal psychiatric morbidity. Instead, they may have a moderate excess of dysphoric symptoms.
在一项对霍巴特老年人的社区调查中，将独居者与与他人同住者进行了比较。独居者更多是寡妇，且受教育程度更高。他们的亲密关系明显更少，但其他社交互动量相同。他们报告称，自己的个人社交网络与其他老年人一样充足，但他们却体验到更多的孤独感。根据《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第三版（DSM - III）标准，他们患抑郁症或痴呆症的患病率并不更高，但他们患神经症性抑郁症和一些抑郁症状的频率更高，孤独感就是其中之一。与直观预期相反，独居的老年人可能并非正式精神疾病发病率增加的群体。相反，他们可能有适度更多的烦躁症状。
