• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.29-53
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• 2014

This research is to study the economical, psychsocial, physical pains of the elderly mens living alone and the process being out of the isolated life. From this, we expect to propose a supportive program to help the living alone of the elderly mens. Six of the elderly mens living alone joined this research and the hermeneutical grounded theory methodology was applied to interpret it. Data were collected by the depth interview and various written records and they were analyzed by Rennie(2007)'s methodology. We could construct 13 categories by analyzing and categorizing meaningful units of the data. The core theme of the living alone experience was presented as "Accepting self-existence forgotten in the swamp of isolation and preparing for the blessed death." Based upon the research outcomes, we suggested a social supportive program considering the elderly men's characters and a way to improve the accessibility to the therapy system for the elderly mens living alone and the need for a meaning therapy.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1015-1033
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning and essence of the life of elderly men living alone in public rental housing. Among the phenomenological study methods, the present study used the analysis method proposed by Giorgi(2009). The study participants included 10 elderly men living alone in public rental housing who were recruited through network sampling. The research data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted twice for each person. The results showed that living alone as an elderly man is likened to standing against cold wind out in the wilderness of the world, with living alone deemed a power game between life and death. For the participants, public rental housing is a fence that separates them from the world-the final station of a wandering life. For common people, public rental housing is a stable fence, but for the participants, it is the location of a double-edged solitary life out in the wilderness where the instincts for survival and death play a tug of war. Based on the study findings, the researcher discussed and provided suggestions for psychological housing stability, the disparagement of the elderly in mass media, and countermeasures against psychological isolation.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.437-438
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• 2019

본 연구는 지역사회의 노인 가운데 지역사회에서 홀로 살아가는 남성 저소득노인의 일상생활경험을 토대로 복지욕구를 파악하기 위한 양적 질적 통합연구로서, 65세 이상의 연구 대상자의 삶에 대한 경험분석을 통하여 남성노인의 삶과 욕구충족을 위한 복지정책과 서비스 방안을 탐색하는데 목적이 있다. 질적 자료 분석을 위한 연구방법으로는 중심주제 분석을 활용, 남성노인들의 생애사를 종단 분석하였으며, 남성독거노인의 경험은 다양한 개인의 특성을 반영한 인생이 담겨있었다. 따라서, 실질적인 남성독거노인의 사회적 관계망 확대, 남성노인 지원정책의 로드맵 재조정, 사회적 연결감을 위한 조직적 지역 네트워크 구축, 고령친화 커뮤니티인프라 구축방안을 국가와 민간이 협력적이고 융복합적인 대책으로서 강구해야 할 것이다.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.607-620
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• 2021

In the current study, the effects of living-alone older adults' social participation on their depressive symptoms were assessed. Data of 924 older adults from the Aging Research Panel Survey were analyzed. The results show that the effects of older adults' social participation on depressive symptoms vary depending on the types of social participation and gender. Men attending school or hometown alumni meetings and clan gatherings showed fewer depressive symptoms; women participating in informal social gatherings or organizations for leisure, culture, and sports had fewer depressive symptoms. The results suggest that living-alone older adults' gender and dimensions of social participation should be considered when designing programs and services to reduce their depressive symptoms.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.365-373
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the quality of life of elderly who live alone according to gender. The participants in this study were 959 elderly living alone from a total of 22,948 individuals studied in the 2013-2015 Korean national health and nutrition examination survey. IBM SPSS 23.0 was used to analyze the data. There were significant differences between the two groups in age, level of education, and amount of calorie intake. Economic status, presence of arthritis, presence of restrict activity, subjective health status had an influence on quality of life in men with an explanatory power of 50.5% (p < .001). Presence of back pain, subjective health status, suicidal ideation had an influence on quality of life in women with an explanatory power of 41.4% (p < .001). Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of elderly living alone, it is necessary to provide appropriate intervention depending on gender.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.49-58
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• 2021

This study examined the effects of antecedent variables on life satisfaction of elderly people who live alone and who live with others by comparing the levels of depression, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Using the 15th data of the Korean Welfare Panel held in 2020, independent sample t-test and hierarchical regression analysis were conducted. Elderly people who live alone had a high sense of depression, low self-esteem, and low life satisfaction. For both of them, the older the age and the higher the income level, the higher the life satisfaction. The regression model, which added depression and self-esteem, had a significant effect on both of them, but the effect of self-esteem was higher (𝛽=.40, .41) than that of depression (𝛽=-.28, -.29). The effects of depression and self-esteem on life satisfaction were higher in elderly people who live alone (R²=.409) than in elderly people who live with others (R²=.398). Based on the research results, this study suggested appropriate policies and practice directions to enhance self-esteem and improve life satisfaction of elderly people who live alone.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.319-333
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• 2024

Background: This study aims to identify the factors that influence the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) for the elderly living alone and to discuss how to manage CHE for the elderly living alone. Methods: This study utilizes 6th (2016), 7th (2018), and 8th (2020) data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging to identify the incidence rate of CHE among the elderly living alone and conducts a panel logit analysis. The dependent variable is the incidence of CHE (thresholds: 10%, 20%, 30%), and the independent variables include demographic factors (gender, age group, region), socioeconomic factors (education level, economic activity status, income quintile, financial support rate from children), health-related factors (subjective health status, regular exercise, smoking, drinking, number of chronic diseases), and healthcare coverage factors (type of health insurance, private health insurance). Results: Descriptive statistics classified by gender show that female elderly living alone are more vulnerable than male elderly living alone in terms of disease prevalence and socioeconomic status. In addition, the incidence of CHE is higher for elderly women living alone than for elderly men living alone across all thresholds. The main results of the panel logit analysis show that higher education, income quintile, and financial support rate from children are associated with lower odds of CHE, while poorer subjective health and a higher number of chronic diseases are associated with higher odds of CHE. Medical aid recipients are less likely to incur CHE than those covered by national health insurance. Conclusion: The implications of this study are as follows. First, vulnerable elderly living alone with multiple chronic diseases and low income and education levels are more likely to incur CHE. Second, it is necessary to review policies such as a CHE support program and chronic disease management programs focused on vulnerable elderly individuals living alone. Third, the CHE support program should be operated in a patient-centered manner, with consideration given to a customized system for selecting and supporting elderly individuals living alone who are in need.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.103-123
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• 2018

The purpose of this research is to study how an elderly male lives after the experience of bereavement, and to understand the experience's essence. The researcher picked 3 elderly men living alone after separation by death as test subjects and gathered information through in-depth interviews. The analysis of the information was done based on the three-dimensional space of narrative presented by Clandinin and Connely(2000), and it restructures the common experience under five meanings. The mutual themes of 'It's the life of a sinner, but not wanting to be seen as a widower to others', 'The fear for death, and the preparation for after death', 'Trying to stay alive for the children', 'Entering the world to find meaning in a gloomy life', and 'A lone goose lost in search of social warmth' came from the research results. The essence of the experience studied with the mutual themes as basis came out to be 'A struggle to take flight again after one broken wing'. This research has a major significance in that elderly males' experience of bereavement was studied in the dimension of time continuity, and that individual social interactions that are made by elderly males to continue their lives after the experience of bereavement were studied.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.115-137
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• 2003

This study aims to investigate the related variables of self-esteem and depression among the Korean elderly people living alone and examine the relationships or interactions between those variables. Participants were 676 elderly men and women who were at least 65 years of age(M=76.17, sd=7.60) and lived in Seoul, Korea. Three hundred seventy eight participants of this study were living alone. Participants completed questionnaires and psychological tests including: Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale, The Index of Activities of Daily Living(IADL), Social Support Index(SSI), and Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale(LSES). Main statistical designs were 2(gender)×2(residential types), Pearson-product moment and regression analysis. Results indicated that the elderly living alone recognized their health poorer, have lower economic status, and received less social supports than the elderly lived with others. The elderly men who had children were more likely to lived alone. And the elderly men living alone received less social supports than the elderly women living alone, and significant gender difference was found in the reason of living alone. The elderly men living alone had lower self-esteem than the elderly women living alone, while the elderly living alone showed more depressive symptoms than the elderly living with others. There were 2-way interactions both in self-esteem and depression by gender and residential types. There was highly significant gender difference in self-esteem only for the elderly living alone, and it was found that there was no significant difference in depression between elderly men living alone and women living with others. Regression analysis revealed that physical function and self-reported health are predictors of self-esteem, and physical function, self-reported health, and social support are predictors of depression for the Korean elderly living alone. These findings reiterate the role of physical function, social support, health in self-esteem and depession among the elderly and suggest the gender role for quality of life among the Korean elderly living alone.

• 한국노년학
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.1119-1135
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• 2012

The single and the married couples elderly are rapidly increasing in the next twenty years. Due to the size of these group, their level of living, life satisfaction, income and medical security and welfare services utilization have been a social issue in Korea. For these reasons, the purpose of this study was to analyze the determinants of welfare services utilization by the single and the married couples elderly. Their analyses were composed of a cross-tabulations and t-test, analysis of variance, duncan test, multiple regression analysis using 5'th Wave Korea Welfare Panel(2010). Data were collected from a survey of 2,716. The results showed that the elderly single women had the lowest level of income and health, the elderly single men needed the help about the emotional support for improvement of family and social relations. The married couples elderly are young and the participation rate of job opportunities for the elderly is high, relatively. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that the level of income and medical security and the satisfaction of family relationships were important factors as related to the welfare services utilization.