Kelsall-Foreman India, Bucks Romola S, Weinborn Michael, Badcock Johanna C
School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Cogn Neuropsychiatry. 2023 Mar;28(2):130-146. doi: 10.1080/13546805.2023.2174841. Epub 2023 Feb 6.
Anomalous perceptions are characterised by the subjective experience of a range of distorted and/or hallucinatory percepts. Whilst considerable attention has been paid to the neurocognitive processes contributing to anomalous perceptions amongst older adults, less is known about the social factors (e.g. social isolation, loneliness). Furthermore, it is unknown whether loneliness and social isolation are associated with different types of anomalous perceptions, including anomalous body-centred self-experiences and anomalous external experiences.
This study examined the cross-sectional relationships between loneliness, objective social isolation, and anomalous perceptions in a sample of community-dwelling older adults (= 242, = 71.87 ± 7.73, range = 52-91, 67.8% female) using structural equation modelling.
Higher levels of loneliness were associated with more anomalous body-centred self-experiences and anomalous external experiences. Those reporting more loneliness also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression; however, the relationship between loneliness and anomalous perceptions was not mediated by these factors. Social disconnection from a religious group was associated with more anomalous external experiences and being married/living with a partner was associated with more anomalous body-centred self-experiences.
These findings suggest that loneliness and social isolation have differential associations with anomalous perceptions in older adults and provide additional evidence that attending to loneliness in older adults is important.
异常感知的特征是一系列扭曲和/或幻觉性感知的主观体验。虽然人们对导致老年人异常感知的神经认知过程给予了相当多的关注，但对社会因素（如社会隔离、孤独感）的了解较少。此外，孤独感和社会隔离是否与不同类型的异常感知相关联尚不清楚，这些异常感知包括以身体为中心的异常自我体验和异常外部体验。
本研究使用结构方程模型，在一组社区居住的老年人样本（n = 242，年龄 = 71.87 ± 7.73岁，范围 = 52 - 91岁，女性占67.8%）中，检验了孤独感、客观社会隔离与异常感知之间的横断面关系。
更高水平的孤独感与更多以身体为中心的异常自我体验和异常外部体验相关。报告孤独感更强的人也报告了更高水平的焦虑和抑郁；然而，孤独感与异常感知之间的关系并未由这些因素介导。与宗教团体的社会脱节与更多的异常外部体验相关，而结婚/与伴侣同住与更多以身体为中心的异常自我体验相关。
这些发现表明，孤独感和社会隔离与老年人的异常感知存在不同的关联，并提供了额外的证据，证明关注老年人的孤独感很重要。
