Loneliness or Sociability: The Impact of Social Participation on the Mental Health of the Elderly Living Alone
Table 1
Definition of variables and descriptive statistics.
Variable
Definition
Mean
Sd
Mental health variables
Degree of depression
The CES-D depression scale was administered (mild = 0; moderate = 1; severe = 2)
0.980
0.727
Anxiety
SAS anxiety scale was used (mild = 0; moderate = 1; severe = 2)
0.470
0.656
Social participation
Simple interaction class
Do not attend = 0; drop in with friends = 1
0.640
0.479
Fitness exercise class
No participation = 0; participation in Taijiquan/square dance/other outdoor activities = 1
0.350
0.477
Self-entertainment class
No participation = 0; planting flowers and raising pets/reading books and newspapers/raising poultry and livestock/watching TV and listening to radio = 1
0.720
0.449
Organization group class
No participation = 0; additional social activities = 1
0.130
0.334
Family care class
No participation = 0; housework, childcare = 1
0.730
0.444
Intellectual participation class
Not participating = 0; playing cards or mahjong = 1
0.160
0.365
Demographic characteristics
Gender
Male = 0; female = 1
0.630
0.483
Age
Younger elderly (65–79 years old) = 0; oldest elderly (over 80 years old) = 1
