Abstract
Abstract Objective To investigate the loneliness and psychological resilience with the perceived social support of the left-behind elderly in rural areas and explore the moderating effect of psychological resilience on the understanding of social support and loneliness of the left-behind elderly in rural areas. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted; 272 left-behind elderly people in 6 rural villages in the Sichuan Province were investigated by using the General Situation Questionnaire, Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the University of California at Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA) with a stratified random cluster sampling method. Results The loneliness score of the left-behind elderly in rural areas was 52.54 ± 7.25, the psychological resilience score was 78 (68.87), and the perceived social support score was 57 (51.62). The perceived social support and psychological resilience were negatively correlated with loneliness, while the perceived social support was positively correlated with psychological resilience. The moderating effect of psychological resilience on the perceived social support and loneliness of the left-behind elderly in rural areas was −0.102 (P < 0.001). Conclusions Higher level resilience is of positive significance to alleviate the negative effect of social support on loneliness. Improving the resilience of the left-behind elderly in rural areas is a beneficial exploration to promote their mental health.
Highlights
The research report on left-behind elderly in rural China (2018) pointed out that the number of left-behind elderly in rural China had reached 16 million, accounting for47.08% of the “three left-behind” populations, and was the main part of the “three left-behind” groups
This study showed that the old man’s psychological resilience played moderating effects between perceived social support and loneliness, in other words, psychological resilience can buffer the influence of low level perceived social support on loneliness, probably because higher psychological resilience got by the leftbehind elderly, can strengthen their faith to overcome low level perceived social support, and improve the negative mood, instead, lower psychological resilience will magnify the pressure from low level perceived social support as well as negative emotions
This study used the Structural equation models (SEMs) research method to explore the relationship among perceived social support, psychological resilience, and loneliness of rural left-behind elderly; on the one hand, it solved the statistical bias from the interactions of multiple factors, which was the improvement compared with previous research by the hierarchical regression statistical method
Summary
The research report on left-behind elderly in rural China (2018) pointed out that the number of left-behind elderly in rural China had reached 16 million, accounting for47.08% of the “three left-behind” populations, and was the main part of the “three left-behind” groups. Loneliness is a negative emotional state that occurs when individuals feel socially isolated or experience negative social interactions.[1] Loneliness in old age is significantly related to cognitive function, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation, and higher levels of loneliness significantly affect the quality of life of the elderly.[2] Perceived social support refers to the social support of individual subjective experience, which is negatively correlated with loneliness, as well as is the main external factor for the analysis of loneliness in previous studies.[3,4] Psychological resilience is an individual’s positive ability to adapt to adverse environmental conditions such as pressure, trauma, frustration, and threat It is an internal protective factor to maintain an individual’s mental health. It plays an important role in whether an individual can effectively cope with negative stimuli to improve the adaptability to the environment.[5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call