Living Alone, Loneliness, and Psychological Well-Being of Older Persons in Singapore
Joint Authors
Source
Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research
Issue
Vol. 2011, Issue 2011 (31 Dec. 2011), pp.1-9, 9 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2011-09-29
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
9
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Studies of the psychological well-being of elderly living alone have yielded inconsistent results.
Few investigators have distinguished living alone from loneliness in the same study.
Thus, the present study examined the independent and interactive effects of living alone and loneliness on depressive symptoms (GDS score) and quality of life (SF-12 MCS score) in a prospective 2-year follow-up cohort study of 2808 community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥55 years) in Singapore, controlling for baseline covariates.
In cross-sectional analysis, loneliness was a more robust predictor of GDS score than living arrangements; living alone, when controlled for loneliness, was not associated with GDS score.
GDS score associated with living alone was worse for those who felt lonely than for those who did not feel lonely.
Similar patterns of association were found in longitudinal analyses and for SF-12 MCS score, although not all were significant.
Thus, though living alone predicted lower psychological well-being, its predictive ability was reduced when loneliness was taken into account and loneliness, a stronger predictor, worsened the psychological effects of living alone.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Lim, Lena L.& Kua, Ee-Heok. 2011. Living Alone, Loneliness, and Psychological Well-Being of Older Persons in Singapore. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research،Vol. 2011, no. 2011, pp.1-9.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-489373
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Lim, Lena L.& Kua, Ee-Heok. Living Alone, Loneliness, and Psychological Well-Being of Older Persons in Singapore. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research No. 2011 (2011), pp.1-9.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-489373
American Medical Association (AMA)
Lim, Lena L.& Kua, Ee-Heok. Living Alone, Loneliness, and Psychological Well-Being of Older Persons in Singapore. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research. 2011. Vol. 2011, no. 2011, pp.1-9.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-489373
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-489373