Zeng Haojie, Liu Yunfan, Zhang Chen, Zhang Xia, Shen Meiying, Zhang Zeyu
Panzhihua Central Hospital, Panzhihua, China.
North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.
Arch Public Health. 2024 Dec 23;82(1):239. doi: 10.1186/s13690-024-01470-7.
At present, China's elderly population is facing several difficulties. The implementation of active aging is an important initiative in the face of the rapidly developing situation of population aging, among which improving elderly expectations regarding the aging level is the key link to achieving active aging. Improving the quality of life of the majority of elderly individuals is the main goal of active aging. Moreover, increasing the level of expectations regarding the aging of the elderly depends to a large extent on psychological resilience. However, most of the current research related to expectations regarding aging focuses on urban elderly individuals and pays less attention to the expectations regarding the aging level of rural elderly individuals. It is not yet known how quality of life, psychological resilience, and expectations regarding aging are related among rural elderly individuals. This study focused on the state of expectations regarding aging, psychological resilience, and quality of life among senior citizens living in rural areas, as well as the relationships among these three factors. The goal is to provide a theoretical basis for further targeted interventions and promote active aging in China.
A cross-sectional descriptive design was conducted via convenience sampling of 320 elderly individuals living in four rural areas of Panzhihua, China, from January to May 2024. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the participants' demographic information, the aging expectancy scale (ERA-21), the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and a 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12). The data were analysed via SPSS version 26.0 software for descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. In addition, AMOS version 24.0 software was employed for path analysis.
The results revealed that Chinese rural elderly individuals have low expectations regarding aging, moderate levels of psychological resilience, and moderate levels of quality of life. There were positive relationships between expectations regarding aging and quality of life (r = 0.631, p < 0.01), positive relationships between expectations regarding aging and psychological resilience (r = 0.261, p < 0.01), and psychological resilience in terms of quality of life (r = 0.334, p < 0.01). Expectations regarding aging play a partial mediating role between psychological resilience and quality of life (β = 0.273, 95% CI, 0.185 ~ 0.381), with an indirect effect accounting for 45.81% of the total effect.
Expectations regarding aging play a partial mediating role in the relationship between psychological resilience and quality of life. These findings suggest that grassroots health workers should take an active role in providing health education and psychological counselling, as well as actively working to improve the psychological resilience and health of elderly individuals. They should also be encouraged to actively approach aging and to raise expectations regarding aging. Finally, they should help elderly people maintain a healthy lifestyle and improve their quality of life.
目前，中国老年人口面临诸多困难。积极应对人口老龄化是面对人口老龄化快速发展形势的一项重要举措，其中提高老年人对老龄化水平的期望是实现积极应对人口老龄化的关键环节。提高广大老年人的生活质量是积极应对人口老龄化的主要目标。此外，提高老年人对老龄化的期望水平在很大程度上取决于心理韧性。然而，目前大多数关于老龄化期望的研究集中在城市老年人，较少关注农村老年人对老龄化水平的期望。农村老年人的生活质量、心理韧性和老龄化期望之间的关系尚不清楚。本研究聚焦于农村老年人的老龄化期望、心理韧性和生活质量状况，以及这三个因素之间的关系。目的是为进一步的针对性干预提供理论依据，促进中国的积极应对人口老龄化。
采用横断面描述性设计，于2024年1月至5月通过便利抽样选取了中国攀枝花四个农村地区的320名老年人。使用问卷收集参与者的人口统计学信息、老龄化期望量表（ERA - 21）、10项Connor - Davidson心理韧性量表（CD - RISC - 10）和12项简短健康调查问卷（SF - 12）。数据通过SPSS 26.0软件进行描述性统计、单因素方差分析和Pearson相关系数分析。此外，使用AMOS 24.0软件进行路径分析。
结果显示，中国农村老年人对老龄化的期望较低，心理韧性水平中等，生活质量水平中等。老龄化期望与生活质量之间存在正相关（r = 0.631，p < 0.01），老龄化期望与心理韧性之间存在正相关（r = 0.261，p < 0.01），心理韧性与生活质量之间存在正相关（r = 0.334，p < 0.01）。老龄化期望在心理韧性和生活质量之间起部分中介作用（β = 0.273，95%CI，0.185 ~ 0.381），间接效应占总效应的45.81%。
老龄化期望在心理韧性和生活质量之间的关系中起部分中介作用。这些发现表明，基层卫生工作者应积极提供健康教育和心理咨询，积极努力提高老年人的心理韧性和健康水平。还应鼓励他们积极面对老龄化，提高对老龄化的期望。最后，应帮助老年人保持健康的生活方式，提高生活质量。
