독거노인의 우울에 영향을 미치는 요인에 관한 연구

A Study on the Depression of Seniors Living Alone: An analysis of different stages of living alone

This study has been conducted to understand the effects of personal characteristics, health, economic and social relations on the depression of seniors who live alone, according to the different stages of living alone. A total of 1,184 seniors living alone from 2014 National Survey Results on Elderly Life Conditions were used for analysis. The durations of living alone were divided into 3 stages: early stage (less than 3 years), mid stage (3-9 years), and later stage (over 10 years). The data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and a multiple regression method was used. The results were as follows. First, there were significant differences in depression among the different stages of living alone. Second, seniors in the later stage of living alone had higher depression rates and poorer economic status, health and social relationships. Third, factors that influenced depression in all three stages were subjective health satisfaction and leisure satisfaction. Satisfaction with parent-child relationships only influenced depression in the early stage while satisfaction with friends and neighbors only influenced depression in the later stage. With these results, policy and practical implications were suggested.