| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺北護理健康大學 === 長期照護研究所 === 104 === Background: The population is aging rapidly in Taiwan, marking it an aging society as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). An aging population will lead to an increase in the number of dependent elders. In addition to declines in physical functioning, elders also face a number of other psychological and social losses which may lead to mental illness, such as depressive moods, one of the most common mental problems in elders. Elders who live alone are particularly vulnerable to depressive moods. They were defined by the WHO as a high-risk group for depression. And their number is on the rise. By projection, the proportion of living-alone elders will account for 15% of all elderly people in 2050. As the number of elders living-alone increases, the prevalence for depression will also increase.
A review of literature shows that studies on the relationship among loneliness, anxiety, and depressive moods of living-alone elders were quite limited. Studies that examined the moderating effects of social support network on the impact of stressors were scarce. This research aims at filling up the gap in the literature.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is two-fold, one to examine the state of loneliness, anxiety and depression in elders living alone, two to explore the effects of social support network in moderating the negative impacts of stressors upon depressive moods, loneliness and anxiety in those elders.
Method: This study was quantative in nature and cross-sectional in design. Data were collected from a group of elders living-alone elders in Nangan District in Taipei City. A structured questionnaire with sound validity and reliability were administered. Hierarchical multiple regression methods were employed to examine the moderating effects of social support network by using IBM-SPSS21.0 software package.
Results: 1. Elders’ characteristics, stressors and social support network were all significantly associated with depressive mood, loneliness, and anxiety. 2. Elders’ social support network can moderate the impacts of stressors upon their depressive moods, loneliness, and anxiety. 3. Main effects existed by the correlation of health status, cognitive function and families support, satisfaction, participate in religious activities, and depressive moods. Main effects also existed in the association between health status, families support, satisfaction with loneliness and anxiety. 4. Family support was capable of mitigating the negative effects of health status, ADLs and cognitive towards loneliness. Home helper services were also found to be capable of mitigating the negative impacts of IADLs towards anxiety.
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