The impact of negative emotional states in the development of loneliness in the elderly

Abstract

Loneliness is an unnatural state for humans, it is a manifestation of poor adaptability, being either a social, or personal problem. The sample of the ascertainment research consisted of 200 elderly people aged between 65-90 years. The analysis of the results revealed that 78.5% of the elderly marked a level of loneliness from very high to a moderate level. The feeling of loneliness in the elderly is preceded by a series of harmful factors such as retirement, widowhood that cause negative emotions: stress, depression, anxiety. The study showed that 68.5% of the elderly attest to a very severe level of anxiety: 22.0% of respondents marked a very severe level of stress, 24.0% a high level of stress, 18.5% a moderate level of stress. On the depression scale, we found that 31% of the elderly scored very high; 26.0% attest to a high level; 21.0% find a moderate level of depression. The study confirmed that the negative emotional states of stress, depression, anxiety correlate significantly positively with the high scores that elderly people get on the loneliness scale.