빈곤독거노인의 사회적 관계와 지역사회공동체의식이 정신건강에 미치는 영향: 전·후기 노인 비교 중심으로 = The Effects of Social Network and a Sense of Community on Mental Health of Older Adults Living Alone in Poverty: With a Focus on a Comparison of Young-old and Old-old

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to examine the effects of social relationship and a sense of community on mental health and a comparison of young-old and old-old along with the relationships among these variables. 302 older adults living alone in poverty in G city were included in this study, using a secondary data from Gwangu Public Agency for Social Service. The results were as follows: First, both family·relative and friends·neighbors network size were less than 2, and formal social network size measured by the number of participation in welfare agencies was 1.02 on average. Second, the mean score of a sense of community was 2.28, less than the median score 2.5, but the score of a sense of community of young-old was higher than old-old. Third, both the young-old and old-old with less than one family·relative and friends·neighbors that older adults living alone in poverty frequently met, they could ask for help, and they could confide had a lower level of mental health than those with two or more people. In addition, the study found that the sense of community was a predictor that influenced life satisfaction and depression. However, family·relative network size was found to be a significant variable that increases life satisfaction only in the old-old. Based on the results, the implications for policy and practice to improve quality of life were discussed.