Sánchez-Moreno Esteban, Gallardo-Peralta Lorena Patricia, Rodríguez-Rodríguez Vicente, de Gea Grela Pablo, García Aguña Sonia
Department of Sociology: Methods and Theory, Research Institute for Development and Cooperation, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Department of Social Work and Social Services, Faculty of Social Work, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 3;20(1):e0316751. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316751. eCollection 2025.
Loneliness is an increasingly significant social and public health issue in contemporary societies. The available evidence suggests that social support is one of the key psychosocial processes for the reduction and prevention of loneliness. This study investigated the role played by sources of social support in the experience of social and emotional loneliness, identifying seven sources of support split between family (spouse/partner, children, grandchildren, siblings) and non-family (friends, neighbours). The study population comprised people aged 65 years and over living in Spain, with a partner (without cohabiting children), alone or in a nursing home. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining data from a survey involving 887 participants (quantitative phase) and data from semi-structured interviews with 30 older adults (qualitative phase). The relationship between the various sources and loneliness was analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) for the survey data and thematic analysis for the qualitative information. The results from both phases of the study suggest different association dynamics between sources of social support and the social and emotional dimensions of loneliness. Lower levels of emotional loneliness were related to support from the following sources: spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings and friends. Lower levels of social loneliness were related to support from the following sources: spouse, grandchildren, siblings and friends. In contrast, greater levels of emotional loneliness were related to support from neighbours and greater levels of social loneliness were related to support from children. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the association between social support and loneliness and suggest that interventions aimed at reducing loneliness could be more effectively targeted by considering the specific effects of support derived from different sources.
在当代社会，孤独是一个日益重要的社会和公共卫生问题。现有证据表明，社会支持是减少和预防孤独的关键心理社会过程之一。本研究调查了社会支持来源在社交和情感孤独体验中所起的作用，确定了七种支持来源，分为家庭（配偶/伴侣、子女、孙辈、兄弟姐妹）和非家庭（朋友、邻居）两类。研究人群包括居住在西班牙、年龄在65岁及以上、有伴侣（无同居子女）、独居或住在养老院的人。采用了混合方法，结合了来自887名参与者的调查数据（定量阶段）和对30名老年人进行的半结构化访谈数据（定性阶段）。使用结构方程模型（SEM）分析调查数据中各种支持来源与孤独之间的关系，并对定性信息进行主题分析。研究两个阶段的结果表明，社会支持来源与孤独的社交和情感维度之间存在不同的关联动态。较低水平的情感孤独与来自以下来源的支持有关：配偶、子女、孙辈、兄弟姐妹和朋友。较低水平的社交孤独与来自以下来源的支持有关：配偶、孙辈、兄弟姐妹和朋友。相比之下，较高水平的情感孤独与来自邻居的支持有关，较高水平的社交孤独与来自子女的支持有关。本研究的结果有助于更好地理解社会支持与孤独之间的关联，并表明旨在减少孤独的干预措施可以通过考虑不同来源的支持的具体效果而更有效地进行针对性实施。
