Kim Chanhee, Chun Jiyoung
Department of Nursing, Changwon National University, 20 Changwondaehak-ro, Uichang-gu, Changwon-si 51140, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.
College of Nursing, Sahmyook University, Seoul 01795, Republic of Korea.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Mar 4;12(5):584. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12050584.
Loneliness was found to be a commonly experienced feeling among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and is considered to be a high-risk factor for depressive symptoms. Maintaining meaning in life has been found to be a protective resource for mental health among older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of an individual's meaning in life in the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms among older Korean adults.
The data were obtained from a sample of 213 community-dwelling older adults aged over 65. The instruments were the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire.
Loneliness was positively associated with depressive symptoms and negatively associated with the presence of and search for meaning among older adults. The presence of meaning mediated the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms but the search for meaning did not. The search for meaning mediated the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms through the presence of meaning.
Our study findings suggest that efforts to reduce loneliness and improve meaning in life should be undertaken to prevent depressive symptoms among older adults.
研究发现，在新冠疫情期间，孤独感是老年人普遍经历的一种感受，并且被认为是抑郁症状的高风险因素。研究发现，保持生活意义是老年人心理健康的一种保护资源。本研究的目的是探讨生活意义在韩国老年人群孤独感与抑郁症状之间关系中的中介作用。
数据来自213名年龄在65岁以上的社区居住老年人样本。使用的工具包括加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表、流行病学研究中心抑郁量表和生活意义问卷。
孤独感与抑郁症状呈正相关，与老年人生活意义的存在和寻求呈负相关。生活意义的存在介导了孤独感与抑郁症状之间的关系，但对生活意义的寻求并未起到中介作用。对生活意义的寻求通过生活意义的存在介导了孤独感与抑郁症状之间的关系。
我们的研究结果表明，应努力减少孤独感并提升生活意义，以预防老年人出现抑郁症状。
