농촌 노인의 성과 거주유형에 따른 신체·정신·사회적 건강 상호관계

Physical, Mental and Social Health of The Korean Rural Elderly : With a Focus on Gender and Family Type Differences

The purpose of this study is to examine how the rural elderly assess their physical, mental and social health and to explore their relations among three dimensions of health. In addition, this study focused on gender and family type differences. For the purpose, survey data was gathered from 320 rural elderly from July to August 2014. Physical health was measured by ADL, IADL and the subject health. Mental health was measured by depression and happiness. Social health was measured by size of social network and social participation. The statistical methods used for data analysis were descriptive statistics, t-test and correlations. The major findings of this study are as follows: Female respondents perceived their physical health more negatively than male respondents. Mental health was perceived somewhat positively in general but who is ‘living alone’ recognized their mental health more negatively than who is ‘living with family members’. Social health of the rural elderly was relatively more positive in comparison to the other dimensions of health. The correlations among physical, mental and social health were statistically significant and were partially different according to gender. Implications of this study were discussed.