Background: The life satisfaction of elderly persons has been extensively investigated and discussed. However, a literature review shows that relatively few studies have focused on the effect of loneliness on the life satisfaction of older adults. Some researchers have acknowledged that the character of the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction is still unclear, and this association is much more complex that it appears to be. Therefore, the main purpose of the current study was to understand how loneliness is associated with satisfaction, and whether self-esteem and educational involvement in the University of the Third Age (U3A) courses can affect this relationship among elderly people.
Methods: The research was conducted on a group of 179 elderly adults (65% women). We measured loneliness, satisfaction, and self-esteem. The data were collected via the paper-and-pencil format through convenience sampling, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Results: The results obtained show that loneliness correlated negatively with self-esteem and life satisfaction. Self-esteem was associated positively with life satisfaction. Self-esteem acted as a suppressor between loneliness and life satisfaction. The participation of older adults in U3A moderated the strength of the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction (direct effect) and between loneliness and life satisfaction mediated by self-esteem (indirect effect).
Conclusion: The mediatory role of self-esteem and the moderating role of educational activities in the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction in late adulthood have important developmental and social implications. It appears that although feelings of loneliness and social isolation have a negative association on the life satisfaction of older adults, this relationship may be altered by empowering seniors’ self-esteem through their involvement in lifelong learning. Such a solution supports the functioning of older people also at the social level.



中文翻译：

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自尊在成年晚期孤独感与生活满意度关系中的作用：来自波兰的证据

背景：老年人的生活满意度已被广泛调查和讨论。然而，文献综述表明，很少有研究关注孤独感对老年人生活满意度的影响。一些研究人员承认，孤独与生活满意度之间关系的特征仍不清楚，而且这种关联比它看起来要复杂得多。因此，本研究的主要目的是了解孤独感与满意度之间的关系，以及第三年龄大学 (U3A) 课程中的自尊和教育参与是否会影响老年人之间的这种关系。
方法：该研究针对一组 179 名老年人（65% 为女性）进行。我们测量了孤独感、满意度和自尊。就在 COVID-19 大流行开始之前，这些数据是通过便利抽样以纸笔格式收集的。
结果：获得的结果表明，孤独感与自尊和生活满意度呈负相关。自尊与生活满意度呈正相关。自尊在孤独感和生活满意度之间起到抑制作用。U3A 中老年人的参与调节了孤独感与生活满意度之间的关系强度（直接效应）以及孤独感和由自尊介导的生活满意度之间的关系强度（间接效应）。
结论：自尊的中介作用和教育活动在成年晚期孤独感和生活满意度之间的关系中具有重要的发展和社会意义。尽管孤独感和社会孤立感与老年人的生活满意度呈负相关，但这种关系可能会通过老年人参与终身学习而增强自尊心来改变。这样的解决方案也支持老年人在社会层面的功能。