2019 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 96-103
Objective: This research aimed to clarify the relationship between face-to-face contact and social support from friends or neighbors and loneliness in the early elderly.
Methods: We distributed questionnaires to the early elderly (65–74 years) who are independent and residing in three areas of Northern A prefecture. The questionnaire items comprised questions regarding individual factors, relationship with friends or neighbors, and loneliness. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used, and loneliness was considered as the dependent variable.
Results: Effective responses were obtained from 292 of the 299 surveyed participants (effective response rate: 48.7%). The average loneliness score was 1.41±2.17 points. The five items significantly related to loneliness after adjusting for individual factors were as follows: not satisfied after meeting friends (OR=5.72), meeting neighbors less than a few times a month (OR=2.94), not satisfied after meeting neighbors (OR=3.15), and not receiving emotional support from others (OR=2.81).
Discussion: The data suggest that to alleviate loneliness in the early elderly who are in transition to retirement and wish to adapt to the community, they should regularly meet friends and neighbors to build or maintain a deep association with them. This will provide the early elderly with greater satisfaction when they meet their friends and neighbors.
