ABSTRACT

Social isolation has been recognized as a critical public health problem. As the most vulnerable population, older adults are disproportionately affected by social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purposes of this study were to examine the association between social isolation and loneliness among U.S. older adults and to explore the moderating effect of solitary activity by using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Social isolation was measured by six indicators, including marital status, living arrangement, social participation in any clubs or social organizations, and the frequency of social contact with children, family members, and friends. Loneliness was assessed by eleven questions derived from the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Solitary activity included 11 types of activities that respondents could perform alone with limited or no social interaction. Results from the multivariate regression analyses indicated that unmarried status and lower frequency of social contact were associated with more perceived loneliness. Solitary activity significantly moderated the negative effects of the low frequency of social contact with family members on loneliness. The findings implicate that social work programs and interventions can aim to expand social networks and provide more opportunities for solitary activities, particularly for isolated older adults.

摘要

社会孤立已被认为是一个严重的公共卫生问题。作为最脆弱的人群，老年人在 COVID-19 大流行期间受到社会隔离的影响尤为严重。本研究的目的是检查美国老年人的社会孤立与孤独感之间的关系，并通过使用来自健康与退休研究 (HRS) 的数据来探索孤独活动的调节作用。社会隔离通过六个指标来衡量，包括婚姻状况、生活安排、在任何俱乐部或社会组织中的社会参与，以及与孩子、家人和朋友的社会接触频率。孤独是通过来自加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表的 11 个问题来评估的。单独活动包括 11 种类型的活动，受访者可以在有限或没有社交互动的情况下单独进行。多元回归分析的结果表明，未婚状态和较低的社会接触频率与更多的孤独感有关。单独活动显着减轻了与家庭成员的低频率社会接触对孤独感的负面影响。研究结果表明，社会工作计划和干预措施可以旨在扩大社交网络并为单独活动提供更多机会，特别是对于孤立的老年人。单独活动显着减轻了与家庭成员的低频率社会接触对孤独感的负面影响。研究结果表明，社会工作计划和干预措施可以旨在扩大社交网络并为单独活动提供更多机会，特别是对于孤立的老年人。单独活动显着减轻了与家庭成员的低频率社会接触对孤独感的负面影响。研究结果表明，社会工作计划和干预措施可以旨在扩大社交网络并为单独活动提供更多机会，特别是对于孤立的老年人。