Loneliness of The Elderly: The Role of Communication Skills, Social Support and Functional Disability

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abstract

Attention and concentration on loneliness predictor variables in the elderly are initial steps for successful treatment of loneliness feeling and decreasing its serious consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of communication skills, social support and functional disability in predicting loneliness of the elderly. It was a descriptive study and the method was correlation. The statistical population of this study considered all the elderly of Tehran in 2016. In this study, 400 elderly who lived at home were selected by random cluster sampling from different areas of Tehran. The revised UCLA loneliness scale, Revised Communication Skills Test (Queendom, 2004), Winefield's multidimensional support scale (Winefield, Winefield, & Tiggemann, 1992), and The Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ 8-item DI) were used to collect information. In order to analyze obtained data, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and stepwise multivariate regression analyses were employed. Statistical results indicated the significant negative correlations between communication skills and social support with loneliness and a significant positive correlation between functional disability with loneliness. Multivariate regression analysis showed that 48 percent of the variance in loneliness feeling of the elderly is explained by the communication skills, social support and disability. The results showed that communication skills, social support and functional disability have a significant role in predicting loneliness of the elderly. The results of this study has significant implications about the importance of these variables in the loneliness of the elderly.

Keywords

References

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Aging Psychology
Volume 2, Issue 2 - Serial Number 5
February 2017
Pages 113-103

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History

  • Receive Date: 14 January 2017
  • Revise Date: 09 May 2017
  • Accept Date: 18 February 2017

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