• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.65-92
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• 2018

It has been well known that there is a close relationship between health and depression among older adults. Under the purpose to mitigate and prevent the risk of depression caused by poor health, the changes in subjective health status'effects on depression depending on the level of age-friendly public service resources, and age were respectively examined in this study. Moderating effects analysis was conducted using 492 adults aged 55 years and over from '2017 age integration survey' data which had been collected nation-widely. Major findings are as follows. The inadequate subjective health status raises the level of depression. This tendency is weakened when the better age-friendly public service resources are presented. In contrast, age has no statistically significant effects on the relationship between two variables. As a result of reviewing the specific conditions to bring out the interaction effects, frail subjective health status increased depression of all age groups as the level of age-friendly public service resources is low. Particularly, for the participants aged average(age 66.6) and older, the negative effects of subjective health status on depression are likely to be lowered by the improvement in poor age-friendly public service resources. That is, the buffer effects of age-friendly public service resources are proved. Based on theses findings, several suggestions for health promotion and depression prevention of older adults were discussed.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.383-392
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• 2020

Purpose: Balance and gait dysfunction caused by aging affect elderly individuals' independent life, which, in turn, can reduce their overall quality of life. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in the vestibular function of healthy elderly and young adults based on the subjective visual vertical (SVV) test as well as to compare and analyze the gait ability between these two groups to study the differences and association between vestibular, dizziness, and balance ability. Methods: The subjects were 18 young and 16 elderly adults with no neurological or musculoskeletal damage. To evaluate vestibular function, a subjective visual vertical test was performed. To evaluate the gait function, the step time, step length, stride length, stance phase ratio, and swing phase ratio were measured. Balance was evaluated using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and dizziness was evaluated using a dizziness handicap inventory (DHI). Results: There were significant differences in the SVV, BBS, and DHI between the young and elderly adults (p < 0.05). The gait variables of the older adults were all significantly different (except for the swing phase ratio) than those of the young adults (p < 0.05). As the result of correlation analysis, the SVV values of the young adults showed a significant negative correlation with step length and stride length (p < 0.05), while the SVV values of the elderly adults only showed a significant positive correlation with the DHI (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The elderly appeared to show a decrease in vestibular function when compared to the young adults, and it is thought that walking and balance function declined, while dizziness increased. Moreover, it is believed that these results can be used as basic data for vestibular rehabilitation in the future.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.767-793
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• 2011

This study aims to explore how older adults construct their life-world in their ecological and socio-cultural context of rural communities and to understand what meanings they give to the life experiences they have had within their life-world. Two rural villages in Sunchang County in North Jeolla Province, South Korea were selected for this study and ethnographic fieldwork was conducted for about 2 months to gather the data. Despite the fact that rural communities face restructuring and economic decline, older adults in this study gave positive meanings to their life experiences. Doing agricultural labor particularly in later life let them maintain independence and continuity in life, and provided them with plenty of opportunity to interact with nature. Also, they had a sense of control over their physical and social environments where they had been familiar with for a long period of time. Furthermore, older adults had various memories of contributions to families and communities have been created. This research shows older adults in rural communities are active agents of their life-world, dismantling stereotypical notions of older adults as dependent, isolated, and marginalized. Implications of the study are discussed in detail.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.101-124
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• 2012

This study examined the longitudinal changes of self-perceptions of own aging among middle-aged and elderly adults, using the latent growth modeling with the three waves of the "Aging and the Quality of Life of the Elderly in Korea", which sampled adults aged over 45 living in Seoul and Chuncheon. The dependent variable is attitudes toward own aging, the sub-scale of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale developed by Lawton (1975). The results showed that the research participants' attitudes of their own aging deteriorated over time. In addition, the lower initial status of the research participants' attitudes of their own aging was associated with being older, being non-married, living in rural areas, attaining the lower level of education, having the fewer social activities, reporting the worse subjective economic status, and reporting the worse subjective health status. The slope of the research participants' attitudes of their own aging differed by the residence areas, educational attainments, subjective economic status and subjective health status. In particular, the difference of the initial status by educational attainments grew over time. Social welfare policy and practice implications are discussed for middle-aged and elderly adults to improve attitudes toward their own aging.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.119-132
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• 2013

This study aims to understand potential gender differences in the association between job characteristics and job satisfaction among older workers. The data are from 506 males and 202 females older than 55 from the first wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA). Analyses focused on examining gender differences in the influences of subjective evaluation of work characteristics measured with education and skill fits of the work, work demands, customary early retirement, as well as more objective job conditions assessed with insurances by the employer, work hours, and salary on job satisfaction. Regression analyses revealed that female workers showed higher job satisfaction while job characteristics worked differently between genders to affect job satisfaction. For males, fitting the job with education and job demands were determining factors of job satisfaction, while the job with skills and work hours appeared to be significant factors for females. Results suggest that opportunities to utilize older workers' human capital and flexible working hours, especially for females workers would be helpful in promoting older adults' employment and satisfaction about their work.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.91-110
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of preparation for old age on the life satisfaction, and the mediating effect of productive activities on the relationship between preparation for old and life satisfaction among the old age in Korea. The subject for this study is 226 older adults who participated in the work fare program of community welfare centers. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN(ver.18.0) program, and frequency analysis, descriptive analysis, multiple regression, and Sobel test were utilized. The result revealed that productive activities has a partial mediating effect between preparation for old Age and life satisfaction. Based on these findings, the theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.73-88
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• 2019

This research was conducted to compare the rhythm reproduction abilities between older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and analyze the abilities depending on the rhythm idiom. Participants between 60-85 years of age were recruited from senior community centers, dementia prevention centers, and senior welfare centers. A total of 57 participants were included in this study: 27 diagnosed with MCI and 30 healthy older adults (HOA). The experiment was conducted individually in a private room in which a participant was given random binary time rhythm idioms and instructed to reproduce the rhythmic idioms with finger tapping. Each participant's beat production was recorded with the Beat Processing Device (BPD) for iPad. BPD calculated rhythm reproduction as measured through rhythm ratio and error among beats. Results showed marginal differences between the two groups in terms of mean scores of rhythm reproduction abilities. In terms of the rhythm ratio among beats, both groups' highest rhythm reproduction rate was for <♩ ♩>, and their lowest reproduction rate was for <♩. ♪>. In conclusion, there was no significant difference in rhythm reproduction ability between the HOA and MCI groups. However, the study found an interesting result related to performance level of rhythmic idioms. This result provides therapeutic insight for formulating rhythm tasks for older adults.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.522-531
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between partner violence and depression in the elderly. This secondary analysis study used the data from 2015 Korean Welfare Panel Study. A total of 2,819 older adults who completed the survey about demographic characteristics, health-related characteristics, satisfaction in the relationship with children, satisfaction in social relationship, partner violence, and depression. Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 by using descriptive analyses, independent t-tests, $x^2$-tests, bivariate logistic regressions, and hierarchical logistic regressions. In the results of hierarchical logistic regressions, after controlled demographic and health related characteristics, satisfaction in the relationship with children, and satisfaction in social relationship, partner violence was significantly associated with depression in both male and female older people. In conclusion, it is important to make a prevention program to reduce partner violence and depression for not only female but also male older adults.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.569-587
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• 2019

This study aims to look at the factors affecting later-life expectation of semi-older adults. Total of 323 participants aged from 50 to 64 was used for analysis from the data of 'Korean's Perception on Aging Society', which was conducted on behalf of Initiative for Humanities' Research and Education, funded by National Research Foundation of Korea. Multiple regression analysis was used for analysis, and the results are as follows. First, later-life expectation of semi-older adults appeared to be high. Second, the significant factors were prejudice towards the elderly and social solidarity. That is, participants with lower prejudice towards the elderly and higher trust and solidarity with society showed greater later-life expectation. Based on the results of this study, future research directions and implications for policy and practice were suggested.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.96-107
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• 2016

This study examined the relationship between leisure needs and perception of psycho-social aging among 1307 older adults aged over 60 years utilizing social services of a social welfare center for senior citizens in Seoul, Korea. A convenience sample of this study was collected for three weeks in December 2012 among older adults via paper survey. Hierarchical multiple regression was utilized to analyze collected data. The present study demonstrated that age, years of education, perception of health status, and perception of economic status were significantly associated with perception of successful aging. However, years of education and perception of economic status were no longer significantly associated with perception of psycho-social aging, when leisure needs was included. Age, perception of health status, and hobbies/entertainment activities and employment/plan of later years activities among types of leisure needs were significantly associated with perception of psycho-social aging. This finding demonstrates that leisure needs influence perception of psycho-social aging. Implications and suggestions to improve perception of psycho-social aging among older adults are discussed.