探討家人、朋友社會支持與社區凝聚 與高齡者老化焦慮之關係

Abstract

研究背景和目的：老化焦慮是每個人邁入老年階段皆可能面臨的問題。近年來，多數研究集中於年輕族群，較少關注高齡者的老化焦慮。本研究以老年族群為目標群體，探索家人、朋友社會支持與社區凝聚分別與長者老化焦慮的關係，並探究獨居、教育程度是否具有調節的作用。 研究方法：本研究問卷採橫斷式研究設計，以於台北市樂齡中心及健康服務中心之長者為研究對象。問卷共回收707份。應變項為「老化焦慮」，自變項為「家人社會支持」、「朋友社會支持」、「社區凝聚」。「獨居」、「教育程度」則為本研究之調節變項。使用SPSS 25.0處理及分析資料，包括描述性統計，皮爾森相關性分析以及調節作用。 研究結果：家人社會支持、朋友社會支持與社區凝聚分別與老化焦慮呈負向相關。教育程度僅對家人社會支持和老化焦慮之關係呈現顯著調節作用，對朋友社會支持及社區凝聚則無調節作用；獨居對社區凝聚和老化焦慮之關係呈現顯著的調節作用，對社會支持則無調節作用。 結論：根據研究結果，建議推廣可充實老化相關知識的教育與廣泛設置社區關懷據點，以幫助中高齡者對於老化與老年生活有更充足的準備，營造正向看待老化與高齡者的環境，提升高齡者自身應對老化的信心。

Background and Objective: Aging anxiety is a situation that everyone will likely encounter when getting older. Most studies selected the younger population as research subjects, and the aging anxiety of the elderly has been less discussed. This study chose the older adults as the research population and explored how social support (from family and friends) and neighborhood social cohesion might impact individual anxiety about aging. Besides, the moderating effect of education level and living alone was further investigated. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional design, with the elderly at Taipei Active Aging Learning Center and Health Service Centers as the research subjects. 707 valid responses were received. Aging anxiety was measured as the dependent variable, and the independent variables included social support (from family and friends) and neighborhood social cohesion. Living alone and education level were examined as moderating variables. This study uses SPSS 25.0 for data processing and analysis, including descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and calculating the moderating effects. Results: Social support (from family and friends) and neighborhood social cohesion were negatively associated with individual aging anxiety. Regarding the reducing effect of familial social support on aging anxiety, education level served as a significant moderating variable. Concerning the reducing effect of neighborhood social cohesion on aging anxiety, living alone was a significant moderating variable. Concluision: According to the study results, it is recommended to promote education that can enhance knowledge about aging and widely set up community care stations to help middle-aged and older people have better preparations for the aging process the life in old age, create a friendly environment that values aging and the elderly, and increases the confidence of older adults in coping with aging.