Strokovni članek Prejeto 4. marca 2022, sprejeto 18. aprila 2022 doi: 10.51741/sd.2022.61.2-3.249-256 Ivona Balent, Barbara GungL Lara Horvat Posledice življenja starih ljudi v samoti in kako jih lahko preprečimo Prispevek prikazuje pomembne ugotovitve na področju samskega življenja v starosti in obravnava problem samote. Težav, s katerimi se zaradi samote srečajo stari ljudje, ne smemo zanemarjati, prav tako pa moramo upoštevati tudi posledice teh težav na njihovo fizično in psihično zdravje in splošno počutje. Zato so v prispevku opisane nekatere intervencije, ki so se pokazale kot učinkovite v preprečevanju negativnih posledic samote pri starih ljudeh. Ker je socialna mreža za zdravje starostnika zelo pomembna, so najuspešnejše intervencije tiste, ki temeljijo na krepitvi socialne podpore starega človeka (npr. sodelovanje znotraj društev, zagotavljanje podpore drugim, multi-generacijska gospodinjstva). Ključne besede: socialna intervencija, starost, socialna izolacija, socialna opora, duševno zdravje, samostojno življenje. Ivona Balent je študentka magistrskega študija Psihologije na Univerzi v Mariboru. Kontakt: ivona. balent@student.um.si Barbara Gungl je študentka magistrskega študija Psihologije na Univerzi v Mariboru. Kontakt: barbara.gungl@student.um.si Lara Horvat je študentka magistrskega študija Psihologije na Univerzi v Mariboru. Kontakt: lara. horvat@student.um.si Old people living alone: consequences and prevention Important findings in the field of solitary life in old age and the problem of loneliness are presented. Difficulties experienced by old people due to loneliness should not be neglected and their impact on their physical and mental health and general wellbeing needs to be addressed. Therefore some interventions are described that proved to be effective in preventing negative consequences of loneliness among the elderly. As the social network is very important for the health of the old, the most successful interventions are those based on strengthening the social support of old people (for example cooperation within associations, providing support to others, multigenerational households). Key words: social intervention, old age, social isolation, social support, mental health, independent living. Ivona Balent is a Master student of Psychology at the Univesity of Maribor. Contact: ivona.balent@ student.um.si Barbara Gungl is a Master student of Psychology at the University of Maribor. Contact: barbara. gungl@student.um.si Lara Horvat is a Master student of Psychology at the University of Maribor. Contact: lara.horvat@ student.um.si Uvod Pozna odraslost prinaša nove in objektivno zahtevne izzive, ti pa so še težje obvladljivi, ko se je star človek z njimi prisiljen spoprijeti sam. Samsko življenje v starosti ni redek pojav, skrb pa zbuja podatek, da se delež starih ljudi, ki živijo sami, vsako leto povečuje. Zanimivo je, da je ta trend opazen po vsem svetu, čeprav se kulture med seboj pomembno razlikujejo v vrednotah in načinu življenja (Reher in Requena, 2018). Prav tako je starih žensk, ki živijo same, vse manj, starih moških, ki živijo sami, pa vse več (Stepler, 2016b). Praviloma imajo ženske v svetovnem merilu namreč daljšo pričakovano življenjsko dobo m Sklep Prispevek prikazuje pomembne ugotovitve na področju samskega življenja v starosti in obravnava problem samote. Težav, s katerimi se zaradi samote srečajo stari ljudje, ne smemo zanemarjati, prav tako pa moramo upoštevati tudi posledice teh težav na njihovo fizično in psihično zdravje in splošno počutje. Zato so v prispevku opisane nekatere intervencije, ki so se pokazale kot učinkovite v preprečevanju negativnih posledic samote pri starih ljudeh. Glede na to, da je glavni dejavnik tveganja za poslabšano zdravje in blaginjo osiromašena socialna mreža starega človeka, se večina intervencij nanaša na vzdrževanje socialnih stikov. Pomanjkljivost pri tem je, da nimajo vsi stari ljudje enakih potreb oz. niso vsi enako željni preživljati svojega časa z drugimi. Za takšne posameznike bi lahko bile predlagane intervencije neuporabne ali celo utrujajoče. Zato menimo, da bi bilo sprva treba prepoznati potrebe starega človeka in potem na podlagi tega izvesti primerne intervencije. Ena od možnih težav v zvezi z izvedbo intervencij je, da določene spremembe v osebnosti in motivaciji starega človeka občutno otežijo sodelovanje z njimi. Dokazano je, da se nevroticizem nekoliko povečuje v pozni odraslosti (Steunenberg idr., 2005), vendar raziskovalci opozarjajo, da je to odvisno od vzorca, na katerem so izvedli raziskavo, in od drugih pomembnih dejavnikov (Donellan in Lucas, 2008), tako da ne moremo govoriti o pravilu. Nevroticizem je povezan z negativno afektivnostjo (Miller, Vachon in Lynam, 2009), to pomeni, da bi stari ljudje določene situacije (in intervencije) lahko doživljali bolj negativno. Dodatno je pomembno omeniti še to, da si stari ljudje želijo čim več samostojnosti in avtonomije, se pravi, da bi nekateri stari ljudje lahko določene intervencije (npr. večgeneracijska gospodinjstva) zaznali kot ogrožajoče za njihovo neodvisnost. Viri Adams, K. B., Sanders, S., & Auth, E. A. (2004). Loneliness and depression in independent living retirement communities: risk and resilience factors. Aging & Mental Health, 8(6), 475-485. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860410001725054 Antonucci, T. C., & Akiyama, H. (1987). An examination of sex differences in social support among older men and women. Sex Roles, 17(11-12), 737-749. https://doi.org/10.1007/ bf00287685 255 o p Aoun, S., Kristjanson, L., Oldham, L., & Currow, D. (2008). A qualitative investigation of the p palliative care needs of terminally ill people who live alone. Collegian, 15(1), 3-9. https:// I doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2007.11.005 i c Carstensen, L. L. (2006). The influence of a sense of time on human development. Science, i 312(5782), 1913-1915. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1127488 j I Desai, R., John, A., Stott, J., & Charlesworth, G. (2020). Living alone and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews, 62, 101122. https://doi. a org/10.1016/j.arr.2020.101122 § Donnellan, M. B., & Lucas, R. E. (2008). Age differences in the Big Five across the life span: id evidence from two national samples. Psychology and aging, 23(3), 558. https://doi. ~ org/10.1037/a0012897 a Elovainio, M., Lumme, S., Arffman, M., Manderbacka, K., Pukkala, E., & Hakulinen, C. (2021). i Living alone as a risk factor for cancer incidence, case-fatality and all-cause mortality: a nationwide registry study. SSM - Population Health, 15, 100826. https://doi. kk org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100826 Ervin, J. L., Milner, A., Kavanagh, A. M., & King, T. L. (2021). The double burden of poverty a and marital loss on the mental health of older Australian women; a longitudinal regression analysis using 17 annual waves of the HILDA cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56(6), 1059-1068. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-02019-z Fang, B., Yang, S., Liu, H., Zhang, Y., Xu, R., & Chen, G. (2019). Association between depression and subsequent peptic ulcer occurrence among older people living alone: a prospective study investigating the role of change in social engagement. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 122, 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1016Zj.jpsycho-res.2019.04.002 Forster, F., Pabst, A., Stein, J., Rohr, S., Lobner, M., Heser, K., Miebach, L., Stark, A., Hajek, A., Wiese, B., Maier, W., Angermeyer, M. C., Scherer, M., Wagner, M., Konig, H. H., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2019). Are older men more vulnerable to depression than women after losing their spouse? Evidence from three German old-age cohorts. Journal of Affective Disorders, 256, 650-657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.047 Golant, S. M. (2020). The distance to death perceptions of older adults explain why they age in place: a theoretical examination. Journal of Aging Studies, 54, 100863. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100863 Jeong, J. Y. (2020). Gender difference in socioeconomic factors affecting suicide ideation and suicide attempt among community dwelling elderly: based on community health survey. Epidemiology and Health, e2020052. https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2020052 Kasser, V. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). The relation of psychological needs for autonomy and relatedness to vitality, well-being, and mortality in a nursing home. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(5), 935-954. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb00133.x Ko, H., Park, Y.-H., Cho, B., Lim, K.-C., Chang, S. J., Yi, Y. M., Noh, E.-Y., & Ryu, S.-I. (2019). Gender differences in health status, quality of life, and community service needs of older adults living alone. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 83, 239-245. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.archger.2019.05.009 Koo, J. H., Son, N., & Yoo, K. B. (2021). Relationship between the living-alone period and depressive symptoms among the elderly. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104341 Krause-Parello, C. A. (2012). Pet ownership and older women: the relationships among loneliness, pet attachment support, human social support, and depressed mood. Geriatric Nursing, 33(3), 194-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2011.12.005 Lee, W. J., Cheng, Y. Y., Liu, J. Y., Yang, K. C., & Jeng, S. Y. (2011). Living alone as a red flag sign of falls among older people in rural Taiwan. Journal of Clinical Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2(3), 76-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcgg.2011.06.006 Leigh-Hunt, N., Bagguley, D., Bash, K., Turner, V., Turnbull, S., Valtorta, N., & Caan, W. (2017). An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health, 152, 157-171. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j. > puhe.2017.07.035 o ^ Miller, D. J., Vachon, D. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2009). Neuroticism, negative affect, and negative « affect instability: establishing convergent and discriminant validity using ecological momentary assessment. Personality and individual differences, 47(8), 873-877. https:// f doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.07.007 CJ3 2 Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje (2020). Podatki o samomoru v Sloveniji, trend samomo- | rilnosti in aktualne aktivnosti NIJZ. https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/datoteke/ ! priloga_1_-_podatki_o_samomoru_v_sloveniji_trend_samomorilnosti_in_aktualne_ak- £ tivnosti_nijz.pdf Noguchi, T., Nojima, I., Inoue-Hirakawa, T., & Sugiura, H. (2021). Role of non-face-to-face £ social contacts in moderating the association between living alone and mental health among community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study. Public Health, 194, 25-28. https://doi.org/10.1016Zj.puhe.2021.02.016 Perčič, S. (2016). Pričakovana življenjska doba ob rojstvu. Pridobljeno 17. 11. 2021 s http:// kazalci.arso.gov.si/sl/content/pricakovana-zivljenjska-doba-ob-rojstvu-0 Portacolone, E. (2013). The notion of preacariousness among older adults living alone in the U.S. Journal of Aging Studies, 27(2), 166-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/jja-ging.2013.01.001 Reher, D., & Requena, M. (2018). Living alone in later life: a global perspective. Population and Development Review, 427-454. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12149 Saito, T., Murata, C., Aida, J. & Kondo, K. (2017). Cohort study on living arrangements of older men and women and risk for basic activities of daily living disability: findings from the AGES project. BMC Geriatrics, 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-017-0580-7 Steinbach, U. (1992). Social networks, institutionalization, and mortality among elderly people in the united states. Journal of Gerontology, 47(4), S183-S190. https://doi. org/10.1093/geronj/47.4.s183 Stepler, R. (2016a). Gender gap in share of older adults living alone narrows. Pridobljeno 17. 11. 2021 s https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/02/18/1-gender-gap-in--share-of-older-adults-living-alone-narrows/ Stepler, R. (2016b). Smaller share of women aged 65 and older are living alone. Pridobljeno 17. 11. 2021 s https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/02/18/smaller-share-of--women-ages-65-and-older-are-living-alone/ Steunenberg, B., Twisk, J. W., Beekman, A. T., Deeg, D. J., & Kerkhof, A. J. (2005). Stability and change of neuroticism in aging. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60(1), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/60.1.P27 Szmigiera, M. (2021). Life expectancy by continent and gender 2020. Pridobljeno 17. 11. 2021 s https://www.statista.com/statistics/270861/life-expectancy-by-continent/ Tang, F., & Lee, Y. (2011). Social support networks and expectations for aging in place and moving. Research on Aging, 33(4), 444-464. https://doi. org/10.1177/0164027511400631 Tseng, F. M., Petrie, D., & Leon-Gonzalez, R. (2017). The impact of spousal bereavement on subjective wellbeing: evidence from the Taiwanese elderly population. Economics & Human Biology, 26, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2017.01.003 Van Grootheest, D. S., Beekman, A., Broese Van Groenou, M. I., & Deeg, D. J. H. (1999). Sex differences in depression after widowhood. Do men suffer more? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 34(7), 391-398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001270050160 Zali, M., Farhadi, A., Soleimanifar, M., Allameh, H., & Janani, L. (2017). Loneliness, fear of falling, and quality of life in community-dwelling older women who live alone and live with others. Educational Gerontology, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2017.1376450