Living Arrangement and Psychological Loneliness of Rural Elderly in Korea

Living arrangement is considered an important variable in discussing loneliness and the psychological state of the elderly. From this point of view, this study aimed at Identifying the effects of living arrangements, sociodemographic variables, social activities, and social psychological variables on the psychological loneliness of the rural elderly. Though hierarchical regression analyses. the predictors of loneliness among the rural elderly were identified as single/co-residence living arrangement(r=.49), sense of well-being based on respects for others' perspectives (r: -.22), needs for remarriage (r=.22), and work hours during off- farming season (r: -.19). The effects of living arrangement remained strong and were not influenced by the addition of sociodemographic variables, social activity variable, and social psychological variables. The feeling of loneliness of the elderly who were living alone was higher than among the elderly who were living with someone else. This finding suggests that the loneliness of the rural elderly derives primarily from the lack of family Interaction. Therefore, it is recommended that social welfare policies for the rural elderly be designed to improve their family and social interactions.

농촌노인의 독거 .동거 가구형태가 심리적 고독감에 미치는 영향