Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
Department of Human Studies, Bunkyo Gakuin University, Saitama-ken 356-8533, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 25;19(17):10620. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191710620.
Help-seeking among destitute adults has not been adequately investigated. Therefore, this study clarifies the mechanisms that suppress help-seeking in middle-aged and older adults living alone. Data were collected from 1274 individuals (aged 50-79 years) who were living alone, using a survey that measured future time perspective, barriers to help-seeking, help-seeking intentions, and current and childhood economic statuses. Men living alone experienced lower help-seeking intention than women, were more likely to try to solve problems by themselves, and experienced greater distrust in others. No sex differences were observed in "future anxiety" and "resignation to the future." Poor economic status was associated with high "resignation to the future," "future anxiety," and "distrust of others" for both sexes. "Resignation to the future" was particularly higher among men with a poorer current economic status, which suppressed help-seeking. Abandoning hope for the future, which is characteristic of middle-aged and older men living alone, may inhibit help-seeking behavior.
贫困成年人的求助行为尚未得到充分研究。因此，本研究旨在阐明抑制独居中老年成年人寻求帮助的机制。该研究通过问卷调查收集了 1274 名（年龄在 50-79 岁）独居成年人的数据，调查内容包括未来时间观、求助障碍、求助意愿以及当前和童年时期的经济状况。结果显示，与女性相比，独居男性的求助意愿较低，更倾向于自行解决问题，对他人的信任度也较低。然而，在“未来焦虑”和“对未来的听天由命”方面，两性之间没有性别差异。对于两性来说，较差的经济状况与较高的“对未来的听天由命”、“未来焦虑”和“对他人的不信任”有关。对于当前经济状况较差的男性来说，“对未来的听天由命”尤其较高，这抑制了他们的求助行为。独居中老年男性对未来失去希望，这可能抑制了他们的求助行为。
