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KMID : 0614420100350010176
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Mental Health & Social Work
2010 Volume.35 No. 1 p.176 ~ p.202
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Factors Affecting Psychological Well-Being of Frail Elderly Women Living Alone
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Seo Hong-Lan
Kim Hee-Nyon
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Abstract
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This study was designed to examine the factors affecting psychological well-being of frail elderly women who live alone. Conducting interview based on written questionnaire, data was collected from 307 frail elderly women who live alone in G city, Gyoungnam province. Based on the results of the study, the intervention strategies were suggested for improving psychological and emotional health of the elderly who live alone and are in needs. In this study, the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale(PGCMS) was utilized as a tool to measure different aspects of psychological well-being of study subjects. The scale is composed of anxiety, attitude toward own aging, and loneliness dissatisfaction. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Subjective health condition was an important factor to affect the feeling of general psychological well-being and it’s all sub-categories. However, very different from existing study findings, socio-demographic characteristics such as age, economic status, numbers of children, a period of living alone did not significantly affect psychological well-being of elders. Although more than half of the study subjects received help from their children, it was turned out that physical contact with them did not affect psychological well-being. Instead, contact with neighbors was a significant factor affecting anxiety, loneliness dissatisfaction, and general psychological well-being of elders. In this study, self-care strategy was turned out as a significant factor to affect general psychological well-being and the attitude toward own aging. That is, as the degree of self-care practice increases, the elderly’s subjective feeling of psychological well-being also increases, and the attitude toward becoming old decreases. Finally, professional attitudes and intervention strategies which social workers and other professionals in mental health area must have in the process of service delivery for lonely frail elders were suggested.
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KEYWORD
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frail elderly woman Living alone, psychological well-being of elderly, anxiety, Loneliness dissatisfaction, attitude toward own aging, self-care strategy
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