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The Effects of the Social Support Network on the Psychological Well-Being of the Rural Elderly in Korea  

Lee, Jeong-Hwa (National Rural Living Science Institute)
Han, Gyoung-Hae (Seoul National University)
Park, Gong-Ju (National Rural Living Science Institute)
Lee, Han-Ki (National Rural Living Science Institute)
Publication Information
Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning / v.9, no.3, 2003 , pp. 1-7 More about this Journal
Abstract
As the proportion of the elderly population in rural area is growing rapidly, the quality of life of the rural elderly is becoming a major concern. According to Rowe and Kahn(1997), active and productive engagement in society is a central component of successful aging. Yet, the effect of various social support network on psychological well-being of the rural elderly is not well known. This study is an attempt to empirically examine the connection between social support network and psychological well-being of the rural elderly. For this purpose, community welfare specialists gathered data from 1033 rural elderly in 32 villages, using structured questionnaires. The statistical methods used for the data analysis were descriptive statistics, cross tables, ANOVA and hierarchical regression analysis using spss wins 10.0 program. The major findings of this study are as follows: The majority of rural elderly have social support networks composed of more than one person and the mean number of their social support network was ten persons. The elderly who keep frequent contact with many adult children and friend/neighbor are happier than the elderly who keep contact with fewer number of children and friends. The size of the network of relatives significantly affects the level of loneliness of the elderly. Theoretical and practical implications of this study for the improvement of the quality of life of the rural elderly is discussed.
Keywords
Psychological well-being; Rural elderly; Social support network;
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