농어촌 여성독거노인의 사회적 관계망이 삶의 질에 미치는 영향

The Effects of a Social Network for Female Elders Living Alone in Rural and Fishing Villages on Their Quality of Life

농어촌에 거주하는 여성독거노인 312명을 대상 사회적 관계망이 농어촌 여성독거노인들의 삶의 질에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지에 관하여 알아보고, 이를 통하여 농어촌에 거주하는 여성독거노인들의 삶의 질 향상방안을 제시함에 목적이 있는 본 연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 농어촌 여성독거노인들의 사회관계망에서 자녀가 가장 중요한 부분을 차지하고 있었으며, 만남 빈도는 이웃, 친척, 자녀 순이었고, 전화 횟수는 자녀, 이웃, 친척 순이었으며, 친밀도에서는 자녀가 가장 친밀하고, 친척보다는 이웃이 더 친밀한 것으로 나타났다. 또한 농어촌 여성 독거노인의 성공감, 효율감, 만족감, 우울감을 통해 살펴본, 삶의 질을 수준은 5점 만점에 평균 2.94로 중앙값 이하인 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 사회․인구학적 변인으로 본 농어촌 지역의 여성 독거노인이 지각하는 삶의 질에 대한 만족은 연소노인이거나 노령노인의 경우가, 학력은 수준이 낮은 집단이, 소득원이 기타를 제외하고 본인/배우자, 자녀인 경우 삶의 질 수준이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 사회관계망의 크기에 따른 삶의 질의 차이에서 자녀의 수가 많을수록, 이웃의 수가 없거나 3명이상일 때 삶의 질이 높았다. 넷째, 농어촌 여성독거노인의 삶의 질에 가장 큰 영향을 미치는 단독 변인은 자녀의 전화 횟수였으나 전체적인 설명력에서 살펴보면, 자녀의 전화 빈도가 많을수록, 이웃의 수가 많을수록, 소득이 많을수록 이웃과의 만남빈도가 많을수록 삶의 질이 높은 것으로 나타났다.

The purpose of this study was to examine which effects a social network has on the quality of life of female elders living alone, targeting 312 female elders who dwell in a rural and fishing village, and to present a plan for improving the quality of life of female elders living alone . The results of this study are as follows. First, as for the social network of female elders living alone in the rural and fishing village, their children possessed the most important role. The frequency of meeting others was in the following order: their neighbors, then their relatives, and then their children. And, the frequency of participating in phone calls was in the following order: their children, then their neighbors, and then their relatives. They seemed to have the most intimate relationships with their children, and they seemed to be more intimate with their neighbors than with their relatives. Also, the level of quality of life of female elders living alone in the rural and fishing village, which was examined by looking at the following factors: their feelings of success, efficiency, satisfaction, and depression, averaged 2.94 points out of a possible 5 points. thereby having been indicated to be less than the median. Second, in light of demographic variables, satisfaction for the quality of life, which was perceived by female elders living alone in the rural and fishing village, was indicated to be high in the case of young elders or old elders, in a group whose academic background level is low, and in a case of the person in question/spouse, and children as for income source except others. Third, as for the difference in their quality of life, according to the dimension of a social network, one’s quality of life was higher when she had more children, and in a case of having no neighbor or of having more than 3 neighbors. Fourth, the independent variable, which has the greatest influence upon the quality of life in female elders living alone in the rural and fishing village, was the frequency of phone calls. However, given examining from the whole explanatory power, the quality of life was indicated to be higher in the following situations: receiving phone calls from their children with greater frequency, having a greater number of neighbors, being in a higher income bracket, and the meeting with their neighbors with greater frequency.