Measuring friendship and social isolation among the older people in institutions and examining related factors.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K02065
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08020:Social welfare-related
• Research Institution: Kagoshima University
• Principal Investigator: Abe Koji 鹿児島大学, 法文教育学域法文学系, 教授 (90416181)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 高齢者 / 社会的孤立 / 精神的健康 / ソーシャルキャピタル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to measure social isolation and loneliness among the older people and to clarify the factors that influence them. First, a Japanese version of the Friendship Scale by Hawthorne (2006) was created and examined for reliability and validity and found to be almost as reliable and valid as the original scale. Next, we conducted a questionnaire survey among older people to explore the factors that influence their loneliness. The results revealed that cognitive function, ADL, subjective well-being, depression, and social capital had an influence on loneliness. In the future, it is necessary to study other generations and methods of community network formation to predict isolation and loneliness among the older generation.

Free Research Field

老年社会科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究によって日本語版Friendship scaleの信頼性と妥当性が確認されたことで、今後国内における社会的孤立と孤独感のさらなる研究の発展が期待できる。また、高齢者の孤独感の影響要因に関する基礎的データを提供しており、身体的・精神的健康を維持するだけでなく、地域のネットワーク維持の重要性について、貴重な知見を提供していると考えられる。