The Impact of Loneliness, Sense of Coherence, and Social Support Among Female Nurses: Examination by Generation

Abstract

Purpose: We focused on loneliness as a factor influencing the mental health of female nurses, and examined its association with Sense of Coherence and social support in different generations.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on 662 female nurses in their 20s to 60s working at eight general hospitals. Among these responses, 335 (50.6%) were valid for the analysis. They were divided into three groups: adolescence (20–29 years old), adulthood (30–39 years old), and middle and old age (40–68 years old), and multiple regression analysis was conducted with Sense of Coherence, social support, and individual factors as explanatory variables, and loneliness as the objective variable.

Results: Subjects’ feeling of loneliness was negatively and significantly affected by the following factors: Sense of Coherence, support from co-workers, and age in adolescence; Sense of Coherence and support from family members and friends in adulthood; and Sense of Coherence, support from family members and friends, and having children in middle and old age.

Conclusion: The support of enhancing Sense of Coherence and the development of social support by taking into account their life cycle were effective in reducing the loneliness among female nurses.