The Mediating Role of Relationship Quality in the Relation Between Desire for Relationship and Job Stability With Loneliness in the Elderly

Abstract

Background: Currently, aging is an important issue as the population of the elderly is gradually increasing worldwide. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between the tendency toward the stability of the relationship and loneliness in the elderly in Gonabad Town, Iran in 2017. Methods: This is a cross-sectional correlational study. The statistical population includes all the elderly population over the age of 60 living in Gonabad Town, Iran. Using the Cochran formula, 350 people were selected as the sample by cluster sampling and matching method. Data collection tools were the relationship quality questionnaire by Pierce (1991) feeling of loneliness questionnaire by Russell (1980). The data were analyzed via the SPSS software, version 23, and the path analysis technique. Results: The results of the path analysis showed that the tendency toward job stability and the tendency toward stabilizing the relationship with family members have both direct and indirect effects; however, the amount of direct, indirect, and total effects on the tendency toward stabilizing the relationship is greater than the tendency toward job stability. The total effect of the desire for job stability on the feeling of loneliness and the desire for job stability equals -1.17 and -0.78, respectively. That is, the direct, indirect, and the total effect of the desire for stabilizing the relationship are greater than the desire for job stability. Conclusion: Job stability may reduce loneliness in the elderly, but it is the stability of the relationship with the family that affects the quality of the relationships and thereby reduces loneliness in the elderly. To strengthen these relationships, it is possible to reduce loneliness in the elderly by increasing the awareness of families about the need for stronger emotional bonds with the elderly to create self-worth in them.