Associated factors of self-esteem of the elderly in Bangnangli Sub-district, SamutSongkhram Province.

Abstract

Background : The elderly with self-esteem will have positive power for self-development, self-care, and not to be a burden to the society. The researchers were interested in studying self-esteem and its associated factors of the elderly who stay in the rural areas and go toward for self-esteem enhancement that corresponds with a context of the elderly in the rural areas.

Objectives : To study the level of self-esteem in the elderly and to identify the associated factors with self-esteem.

Methods : Three hundred and forty elderly volunteers aged 60 or higher were recruited through simple random sampling. The collected data were questionnaires on personal factors, including the reliability as follows: the Coopersmith self-esteem 0.90, the doctrine in regular life 0.85, family relationships 0.84, social relationships 0.76, and social environment 0.78.

Results : In all, 59.1% of the subjects were female; 56.2% were between 60 – 69 years old. The moderate level of self-esteem was the most popular at 62.9%, low and high level were 21.8 and 15.3% respectively. Health status, ability to perform regular daily task, chronic disease, perception of physical health compared with the people of the same aged, spending leisure for doing activities on hobbies, and sports, contact with their children, family roles such as assisting on occupation, advising on family, taking care of children, and doing slight chores were statistically significantly associated with self-esteem (P <0.05). Family relationship (r = 0.56), social relationship (r = 0.59), and social environment (r = 0.55) were positively statistically significant correlated to self- esteem (P <0.01). Age, monthly income, and the doctrine in regular life were not statistically significant correlated to self-esteem (P >0.05).

Conclusions : Elderly care agencies should recognize in their patients their health status, ability to perform regular daily task, chronic disease, perception of physical health compared with people of the same age, leisure for activities, contacts with their children, family roles such as assisting on occupation, advises given to the family, care for their children, and doing slight chores, family relationship, social relationship and social environment.