Correlations among Family Support, Self-Esteem and Compliance with Preventive Health Behavior in Elderly People

Choi, Young A; Park, Jum Hee

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify correlations among family support, self-esteem and compliance in preventive health behavior in elderly people. The results will provide valuable data for nursing interventions towards help the elderly lead better lives. Those who lived with elderly people in Kimchun were interviewed by the researcher and an assistant. The subjects were 191 elderly people over the age of 65. The study method used was a structured questionnaire and the data were collected from September 17th to September 31th in 1998. The tools for this study were the family support scale designed by Gang Hyun Sook, the self-esteem scale designed by Rosenberg and the preventive health behavior scale designed by Gang Yune Sook. The data were analyzed by the SAS program, Mean, SD, T-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Coefficients. The results of this study are as follows ; 1. The mean score for family support was 40.49. The score of family support of the elderly showed significant differences according to age(F=2.66, p<.05), spouse presence(t=4.20, p<.001), family pattern(F=4.56, p<.01), economic status(F=10.47, p<.001) and pocket money(F=10.46, p<.001). 2. The mean score for self-esteem was 29.01. The score of self-esteem of the elderly showed significant differences according to educational level (F=3.47, p<.01), spouse presence(t =2.49, p<.05), family pattern(F=3.79, p< 01), economic staus(F=15.65, p<,001) and pocket money(F=14.04, p<.001). 3. The mean score for compliance with preventive health behavior was 53.15. The score of compliance of preventive health behavior of the elderly showed significant differences according to economic status(F=9.34, p<.001) and pocket money(F=8.13, p<.001). 4. The relation between family support and self-esteem was significantly different (r= .57, p<.001). The relation between family support and compliance with preventive health behavior was significantly different(r=.44, p<.001). The relation between self-esteem and compliance with preventive health behavior was significantly different (r=.51, p<.001). In conclusion, the correlations among family support, self-esteem and compliance with preventive health behavior in elderly people showed significant differences.