老人のコミュニケーション・システム

抄録

　The general pattern of aging is as follows; a progressive decline in activity and fewer social contacts with retirement and gradual separation from family and friends; and along with this a growing sense of lonliness , uselessness and alienation. As habitual channels of interpersonnal communication are cut, the elderly often become dependant on the mass media for information. Studies reveal that the elderly watch more TV than any other social group.
　The purpose of this study was to find out the function of TV on the elderly from the communication aspect. Both mass media contacts and interpersonnal contacts were examined. One hundred sixty-three males and hundred ninety-five female were interviewed in March and April, 1982. One hundred forty-eight of them were enrolled in a “School for the Elderly”, and two hundred ten were members of six Senior Centers in Tokyo. They were classified into four types according to living arrengement; living alone, living with spouse, living with child's couple, living with child's familly (three generation).
　Major findings were as follows;
1) All types of the elderly had fewer contacts with relatives and neighbors.
2) The elderly living alone had less family contact and much more contact with friends, watched TV most and received the most gratification of needs for empathy, affection, escape, perticipation , self-affirmation and social information.
3) The elderly living with spouse had much family contact, watched TV primarily for social information.
4) The elderly living with child's family (three generation) had much contact with family and friends and watched TV for emotional gratification.
　In examining communication system of the elderly, TV viewing was found to be a substitute of interpersonnal communication.