•  
  •  
 

ORCID ID

Siti Zuhaida Hussein : 0000-0002-0423-0351

Norazilah Khalip : 0000-0003-2005-245X

Selamah Ismail : 0000-0003-0509-2189

Mohammad Fariq Hatta : 0000-0003-1142-2770

Abstract

Background: Social support plays a vital role in ensuring the well-being and quality of life of older people.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 380 older adults residing in a rural district in Johor, Malaysia. A proportional stratified random sampling was used to examine the relationship between social support and three types of loneliness. The data were collected using the Short-Form Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults and Lubben Social Network Scale–6, with p < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Statistics 26.0 for Windows.

Results: More than half of the older adults in this rural area received social support from their family and friends. The results showed a significant relationship between family support and social (p < 0.01), emotional (p < 0.001), and family loneliness (p < 0.01). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that social support from friends (p < 0.001) and family (p = 0.02) predicted significantly social loneliness. Family support is a significant predictor of emotional loneliness (p = 0.001), and friend support is a significant predictor of family loneliness (p = 0.001).

Conclusions: The support from family members and friends is recommended to combat loneliness in older adults.

References

  1. Czaja SJ, Moxley JH, Rogers WA. Social support, isolation, loneliness, and health among older adults in the PRISM randomized controlled trial. Front Psychol. 2021;12:728658.
  2. Zhang M, Chen C, Du Y, Wang S, Rask M. Multidimensional factors affecting care needs in daily living among community-dwelling older adults: A structural equation modelling approach. J Nurs Manag. 2021;29:1207–19.
  3. Lubben JE, Gironda MW. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2000.
  4. Tomaka J, Thompson S, Palacios R. The relation of social isolation, loneliness, and social support to disease outcomes among the elderly. J Aging Health. 2006;18:359–84.
  5. Teh JK, Tey NP, Ng ST. Family support and loneliness among older persons in multiethnic Malaysia. ScientificWorldJournal. 2014;2014:654382.
  6. Tomaz SA, Coffee P, Ryde GC, Swales B, Neely KC, Connelly J, et al. Loneliness, wellbeing, and social activity in scottish older adults resulting from social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:4517.
  7. Wang R, Yang Y, Li Y, Liu Y, Zhao X, Jia J, et al. Social support moderates suicidal ideation among Chinese nursing home residents with limited activities of daily living and loneliness. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021;35:638–44.
  8. Mahmud MA, Hazrin M, Muhammad EN, Mohd Hisyam MF, Awaludin SM, Abdul Razak MA, et al. Social support among older adults in Malaysia. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2020;20 Suppl 2:63–7.
  9. Mahmud NA, Shahein NA, Yoep N, Mahmud MAF, Maw Pin T, Paiwai F, et al. Influence of social support on limitation in daily living among older persons in Malaysia. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2020;20 Suppl 2:26–32.
  10. Minhat HS, Mohd Amin R. Sociodemographic determinants of leisure participation among elderly in Malaysia. J Community Health. 2012;37:840–7.
  11. Abdul Mutalip MH, Abdul Rahim FA, Mohamed Haris H, Yoep N, Mahmud AF, Salleh R, et al. Quality of life and its associated factors among older persons in Malaysia. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2020;20 Suppl 2:92–7.
  12. Hussein SZ, Ismail AH, Abu Bakar SH. Loneliness and health outcomes among Malaysian older adults. Makara J Health Res. 2021;25:87–93.
  13. Iglesias S, Arias AV. Structural and functional social support in an elderly objective and subjective health ratings. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2015;5:243–2.
  14. Ali, S. Quality of life of Malaysian men and women retirees: A case study in Besut, Terengganu. Geografia: Malays J Soc Space. 2017;12:11–21.
  15. Ibrahim AK, Kelly SJ, Adams CE, Glazebrook C. A systematic review of studies of depression prevalence in university students. J Psychiatr Res. 2013;47:391–400.
  16. Ahmad NA, Abd Razak MA, Kassim MS, Sahril N, Ahmad FH, Harith AA, et al. Association between functional limitations and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Malaysia. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2020;20 Suppl 2:21–5.
  17. Freak-Poli R, Ryan J, Tran T, Owen A, McHugh Power J, Berk M, et al. Social isolation, social support and loneliness as independent concepts, and their relationship with health-related quality of life among older women. Aging Ment Health. 2022;26:1335–44.
  18. Gregory MA, Legg NK, Senay Z, Barden JL, Phiri P, Rathod S, et al. Mental Health and Social Connectedness across the Adult Lifespan in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Can J Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement. 2021;40(4):554–69.
  19. Wan Mohd Azam WM, Din NC, Ahmad M, Ghazali SE, Ibrahim N, Said Z, et al. Loneliness and depression among the elderly in an agricultural settlement: Mediating effects of social support. Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2013;5 Suppl 1:134–9.
  20. Chen Y, Hicks A, While AE. Loneliness and social support of older people in China: A systematic literature review. Health Soc Care Community. 2014;22:113–23.
  21. R Mamat, SZ Hussein, K Shamsudin. Loneliness among elderly in community residence at Pontian District Johore. Malays J Med Health Sci. 2020;16:44.
  22. Dong X, Chang ES, Wong E, Simon M. Perception and negative effect of loneliness in a Chicago Chinese population of older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2012;54:151–9.
  23. Kotwal AA, Fuller SM, Myers JJ, Hill D, Tha SH, Smith AK, M Perissinotto C. A peer intervention reduces loneliness and improves social well-being in low-income older adults: A mixed-methods study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021;69:3365–76.
  24. Heravi-Karimooi M, Anoosheh M, Foroughan M, Sheykhi MT, Hajizadeh E. Understanding loneliness in the lived experiences of Iranian elders. Scand J Caring Sci. 2010;24:274–80.
  25. Cohen-Mansfield J, Parpura-Gill A. Loneliness in older persons: A theoretical model and empirical findings. Int Psychogeriatr. 2007;19:279–94.
  26. Chalise HN, Kai I, Saito T. Social support and its correlation with loneliness: A cross-cultural study of Nepalese older adults. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2010;71:115–38.
  27. Drageset J, Kirkevold M, Espehaug B. Loneliness and social support among nursing home residents without cognitive impairment: A questionnaire survey. Int J Nurs Stud. 2011;48:611–9.
  28. Amzat IH, Jayawardena P. Emotional loneliness and coping strategies: A reference to older Malaysians at nursing homes. Popul Ageing. 2016;9:227–47.
  29. Hussin SH, Daud AIA, Taibi M, Hussin SR. Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the Covid-19 MCO. Int J Bus Soc. 2021;22;1402–19.
  30. DiTommaso E, Spinner B. The development and initial validation of a measure of social and emotional loneliness (SELSA). Pers Individ Differ. 1993;14:127–34.
  31. Drennan J, Treacy M, Butler M, Byrne A, Fealy G, Frazer K, et al. The experience of social and emotional loneliness among older people in Ireland. Ageing Soc. 2008;28:1113–32.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.