城市高龄独居老人的孤独感及其影响因素研究

Loneliness and Its Correlates Among the Aged People Living Alone in Urban Areas

随着快速的人口老龄化和城市化,我国城市高龄老人独居的比重大幅度上升,其孤独感问题引起广泛关注。使用"中国大城市城区70岁及以上独居老人状况和需求调查"数据分析城市高龄独居老人的孤独感及其影响因素发现:约40%的独居老人从来不感到孤独,约45%有时感到孤独,约15%经常感到孤独;女性、经济状况差和健康状况差的独居老人的孤独感风险高;居住在北方城市的独居老人的孤独感发生风险比居住在南方城市的独居老人高;独居老人与子女的居住距离越远,与家人的联系频率越低、关系越差,产生孤独感的风险也越高;由于各种原因失去提供帮助的人会使独居老人产生较高的孤独感。未来进一步加速的少子老龄化对城市高龄独居老人的社会支持和社区服务体系的建设提出了新的挑战,如何构建有益的社会生活和社会关系,使邻居和社区干部以及志愿者对老人的支持能够真正有益于老人,满足老年人特别是独居老人的需求,减轻其孤独感,已成为一项任重而道远的工作。

With the faster speed of population aging and urbanization,the proportion of the elderly living alone in urban areas has risen rapidly. The issue of loneliness has attracted wide attention. The present study examined the prevalence and influence of loneliness among the aged population( those aged 70 and over)living alone in the cities in China. The data used are from the Aged Population Living Alone in Urban Areas Survey. We find that the participants had a moderate level of loneliness,with 40%,45% and 15% reporting no,sometimes and often suffering from loneliness,respectively. But the heterogeneous groups among people had different risks of being lonely. Loneliness is associated with advancing age,females,widowhood,poorer income and poorer health. Less family support and losing relatives and friends significantly increases the risks of being lonely. More supports,including those from neighbors,community staff and volunteers,are needed to decrease the risk of feeling lonely for the elderly living alone.