Repercusiones de la soledad y el aislamiento social en la salud y calidad de vida de las personas mayores. Estudio longitudinal pre-post Covid-19

• Autores: Zaira Torres
• Directores de la Tesis: Amparo Oliver Germes (dir. tes.), Irene Fernández Martínez (codir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat de València ( España ) en 2024
• Idioma: español
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Albert Sánchez Niubò (presid.), Laura Galiana Llinares (secret.), Ester Villalonga Olives (voc.)
• Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Promoción de la Autonomía y Atención Socio Sanitaria a la Dependencia por la Universitat de València (Estudi General)
• Materias:
  • Demografía
    • Características de la población
      • Envejecimiento de la población
  • Psicología
    • Psicología social
• Enlaces
  • Tesis en acceso abierto en: TESEO
• Resumen

  • The purpose of this doctoral thesis is to contribute to research on the effects of loneliness and social isolation in the field of gerontology. To achieve this goal, the thesis is structured around four objectives or thematic axes: To study the longitudinal impact of loneliness on several variables related to health and quality of life. To identify the different social support profiles of the older adults and how these profiles are related to several health indicators. To study the characteristics of social networks in the COVID-19 context and how they have influenced mental health and loneliness during the pandemic. To examine the role of social activities in alleviating the feelings of loneliness after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on volunteering activities.

    The first three studies presented in this doctoral thesis aimed to explore the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and quality of life, suicidal ideation, social participation, mobility problems and physical activity. These studies have employed longitudinal methodologies such as cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) and random intercept cross lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) with three waves or more to study the reciprocal effects of these associations.

    Social networks play a crucial role in the lives of older people, acting as an important support system to address the challenges associated with aging. Therefore, we conducted two studies to replicate the typology proposed by Litwin and Stoeckel (2014). Both studies aimed to identify typologies of social networks focused on samples from two of the world's most rapidly aging populations: Europe and Japan.

    The restrictions and the social distancing measures experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the structures, dynamics, and function of the social networks, particularly affecting the social networks of older adults. In this scenario, Study 6 was conducted to investigate the different types of social support networks of older adults in Europe and Israel during the pandemic and their impact on depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

    Finally, Study 7 investigates the longitudinal impact of volunteering on feelings of loneliness among older adults at three time points (before the COVID-19 pandemic (T0), the first few months of pandemic (T1), and one year after the start of the pandemic (T2)).