老年人孤独感及其影响因素的潜在转变分析

The high prevalence of loneliness and various accompanying adverse consequences (e.g., depression, higher blood pressure, insomnia, immune stress responses and worse cognition) are becoming serious public concerns. To provide insights on prevention and intervention programs, this study examines the properties and development of loneliness behaviors in elderly people. Taking a longitudinal perspective enables researchers to understand who is expected to transition to a higher risk status in the future, which will help to predict symptoms so that tailored interventions can be designed to protect the elderly from loneliness. Two-wave longitudinal data over 4 years were derived from the American Health and Retirement Study (HRS). A total of 3238 women and 2205 men in their 50s were recruited. Latent class and latent transition models were used to identify meaningful subgroups of the elderly with different symptoms (i.e., lack of companionship, being left out, isolation from others, lack of belonging, and withdraw