Korean Journal of Adult Nursing (성인간호학회지)

Korean Society of Adult Nursing (한국성인간호학회)
권호 표지

Factors related to Meaning in Life in Elderly

노인의 삶의 의미에 영향을 미치는 요인

  • Received : 2010.06.03
  • Accepted : 2010.08.14
  • Published : 2010.08.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Purpose: The study examined factors related to the meaning in life in elderly in one city. Methods: The sample consisted of 217 subjects all of which were over 60 years of age and were recruited from two community senior centers from December 2008 to February 2009. Data collection instruments were the Meaning in Life Scale, Social Support Index, CES-D, and RULS questionnaire. SPSS/WIN 17.0 was used for descriptive analysis, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and correlation coefficient. Results: The mean of the score from the Meaning in Life was 50.04 (range 10~70). There were significant differences in subjects' perception of meaning in life according to age, level of education, religion, having a spouse, satisfaction with relationship with children, and frequency of visits to a community senior center. Meaning in life was significantly correlated with family support, depression, and loneliness, which were significant predictors (21.5%) of meaning in life. Conclusion: To improve meaning in life of the elderly who visited a community senior center, nurses may pay attention to depression, loneliness, and family support.

Keywords

References

  1. Barrerea, M. (1986). Distinctions between social support concept, measure, and models. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 413-445. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00922627
  2. Casimir, G. J., Jean-Louis, G., Butler, S., Zizi, F., Nunes, J., & Brady, L. (2010). Perceived insomnia, anxiety, and depression among older Russian immigrants. Psychological Reports, 106, 589-597. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.106.2.589-597
  3. Cho, Y. J. (2007). The effects of productive activities and family support on elderly women's psychological well-being. Journal of Population Association of Korea, 30, 23-44.
  4. Choi, M. S., & Son, C. N. (2007). The effects of purpose in life on self-esteem, problem solving attitudes and fear of negative evaluation. The Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 951-967. https://doi.org/10.17315/kjhp.2007.12.4.017
  5. Choi, S. O., Kim, S. N., Shin, K. I., & Lee, J. J. (2002). Meaning in life of a resident community of normal adults. Journal of Korean Academy of Adult Nursing, 14, 359-367.
  6. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  7. Eun, Y., Song, K. A., Park, O. H., Ko, S. H., Park, M. H., Kim, J. S., et al. (2010). Gerontological nursing (2nd ed). Seoul: Hyunmoonsa.
  8. Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2008). Meaning in life: Translating nursing concepts to research. Asian Nursing Research, 2, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1976-1317(08)60023-7
  9. Han, C. H. (2010). Structural model of life satisfaction in the elderly. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Daegu Haany University, Daegu.
  10. Jang, S. M. (2008). Family type and family support effecting on depression of elderly diabetics. Korean Journal of Family Social Work, 22, 35-66.
  11. Jeon, H. O. (2003). A study on the meaning of life and the quality of life in old people. Unpublished master's thesis, Ewha Womans University, Seoul.
  12. Jeon, K. S. (2010). Well-being of middle-aged Koreans: Development of scales related to happiness and meaning of life, and comparisons between groups. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Chung-Ang university, Seoul.
  13. Kang, D. G. (2005). A study on factors influencing the depression of the elderly in rural. Unpublished master's thesis, Mokwon University, Daejeon.
  14. Kim, J. H. (2006). A study of the relationships between loneliness and leisure activities of elderly people. Unpublished master's thesis, Ewha Womans University, Seoul.
  15. Krause, N. (2009). Meaning in life and mortality. Journal of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 64(4), 517-527.
  16. Kyunghyungcom (2010. May). Suicide prevention & love of life. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from http://news.khan.co.kr/ section/khan_art_view.html?mode=view&artid=2010050 61738525&code=900303
  17. Lee, J. A., Chung, S. J., & Cho, H. A. (2005). Spirituality, interpersonal relationship, and meaning in life of the adults. Journal of Kyonggi University, 34, 193-205.
  18. Lee, K. S., & Chung, S. J. (2006). A correlational study among gender equality awareness, meaning in life, and depression. Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 15, 14-21.
  19. Lim, J. Y. (2010). Elderly's stress and anxiety: The mediating effects of looming maladaptive style and meaning in life, and moderating effect of social support. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Kyungpook National University, Daegu.
  20. Olsen, K. D., Dysvik, E., & Hansen, B. S. (2009). The meaning of family members' presence during intensive care stay: A qualitative study. Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, 25, 190-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2009.04.004
  21. Owens, G. P., Steger, M. F., Whitesell, A. A., & Herrera, C. J. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder, guilt, depression, and meaning in life among military veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 654-657.
  22. Park, J. C. (2010). A study on the regional characteristics of elderly leisure activity in the aging society. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Chonnam National University, Gwangju.
  23. Park, J. S. (2010). A study of Korean religiosity: Examination of its components and effects on the meaning of life. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Chung-Ang University, Seoul.
  24. Pinquart, M. (2002). Creating and maintaining purpose in life in old age: A meta analysis. Ageing International, 27, 90-114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-002-1004-2
  25. Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self report depression scale or research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306
  26. Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472
  27. Stegar, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2004). The development and validation of the meaning in life questionnaire. Unpublished Manuscript. University of Minesota, USA.
  28. Suh, K. H., & Kim, Y. S. (2003). An investigation of factors influencing upon life satisfaction among the elderly people. The Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 8, 113-131.
  29. Wu, Z. Q., Sun, L., Sun, Y. H., Zhang, X. J., Tao, F. B., & Cui, G. H. (2010). Correlation between loneliness and social relationship among empty nest elderly in Anhui rural area, China. Aging Mental Health, 14, 108-112. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860903228796
  30. Yoo, H. J. (2007). Successful aging of the widowed elderly women in rural areas. Journal of the Korean Gerontological Society, 27, 617-634.