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Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans

Background: Despite a relatively large number of studies exploring late-life loneliness, few studies have compared gender differences in the correlates of loneliness of older adults. Thus, we examined the gender differences in correlates of loneliness among community-dwelling older adults. Methods:...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kim, Young Bum, Lee, Seung Hee
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9224515/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35742581
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127334
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author Kim, Young Bum
Lee, Seung Hee
author_facet Kim, Young Bum
Lee, Seung Hee
author_sort Kim, Young Bum
collection PubMed
description Background: Despite a relatively large number of studies exploring late-life loneliness, few studies have compared gender differences in the correlates of loneliness of older adults. Thus, we examined the gender differences in correlates of loneliness among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data from a parent study conducted among community-dwelling Koreans 65 years of age or older. Loneliness was measured by the 20-item Revised University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. As potential correlates, demographic, health-related, and social variables were included. Multivariate hierarchical regression analyses were performed separately by gender. Results: Men were more likely to be lonely than women, after controlling for demographic, health-related, and social variables. A social network of family ties and being married were found to be inversely correlated with loneliness in men but not in women. A social network of friendship ties and participation in a variety of community activities were inversely correlated with loneliness in both men and women. Conclusions: A social network of family ties and being married may help reduce late-life loneliness, particularly among men. This study highlights the importance of considering gender differences in the design of strategies for preventing and alleviating late-life loneliness.
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spelling pubmed-92245152022-06-24 Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans Kim, Young Bum Lee, Seung Hee Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Background: Despite a relatively large number of studies exploring late-life loneliness, few studies have compared gender differences in the correlates of loneliness of older adults. Thus, we examined the gender differences in correlates of loneliness among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data from a parent study conducted among community-dwelling Koreans 65 years of age or older. Loneliness was measured by the 20-item Revised University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. As potential correlates, demographic, health-related, and social variables were included. Multivariate hierarchical regression analyses were performed separately by gender. Results: Men were more likely to be lonely than women, after controlling for demographic, health-related, and social variables. A social network of family ties and being married were found to be inversely correlated with loneliness in men but not in women. A social network of friendship ties and participation in a variety of community activities were inversely correlated with loneliness in both men and women. Conclusions: A social network of family ties and being married may help reduce late-life loneliness, particularly among men. This study highlights the importance of considering gender differences in the design of strategies for preventing and alleviating late-life loneliness. MDPI 2022-06-15 /pmc/articles/PMC9224515/ /pubmed/35742581 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127334 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Kim, Young Bum
Lee, Seung Hee
Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans
title Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans
title_full Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans
title_fullStr Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans
title_full_unstemmed Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans
title_short Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans
title_sort gender differences in correlates of loneliness among community-dwelling older koreans
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9224515/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35742581
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127334
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