한국과 일본 고령자의 비공식적 사회관계망이 생활만족도에 미치는 영향

Abstract

This paper contains the results of a field research on the subject of informal social network on the life satisfaction of the aged population in Korea and Japan. informal social network, involving an extended as well as an immediate family members and neighbors, is divided into the following categories: population size; distance; face-to-face contact frequency; communication frequency; a subjective level of social relations. The findings of the research : First, the aged population in Korea have more children, relatives, friends and neighbors on average, while their distance with children and relatives are wider than their Japanese counterparts. The frequency of both direct and indirect contact is higher among Korean senior citizens than that of the aged in Japan, whereas the subjective assessment their relationship with their children, relatives and neighbors are poorer than Japanese senior citizens. Second, as for the more satisfied with their lives when they have a religion, a subjectively poor economic condition, a higher frequency of face-to-face interactions, a lower frequency of indirect contact, and a better subjective social relations. On the other hand, Korean senior citizens are more satisfied with their lives when they live with their spouse, are in a subjectively better economic and health conditions, have a larger pool of social network with a lower frequency of contact and a higher subjective relationship level. Also, the study found that on average, the aged population in Korea earned higher scores in categories such as the size of social network, contact frequency in both direct and indirect forms, are relatively close in distance but are less satisfied with subjective level of closeness and life in general. In contrast, the senior citizens of Japan have a smaller size of social network with a longer distance and less frequent contact in any form, while their subjective assessment of relationship and life gets higher marks. The following implications could be drawn : First, it is imperative to improve the quality as well as quantity of informal social network. By extension, policy makers need to tackle the issue related to the aged population, such as 1-member household, separation from the family, “solitary death”, etc. Second, it is necessary to ensure stable income for the aged population. Third, informal social network for senior citizen support is called for.