Latent Profile Analysis of Social Isolation among Older Adults Living Alone in Depopulation-Risk Regions: Daily Living and Social Network Patterns
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(Purpose) The Purpose of this study is to profile the multifaceted nature of social isolation among older adults living alone in Korean regions facing population decline, offering an evidence base for community leaders and welfare planners who must design targeted countermeasures in areas threatened by regional extinction. (Design/methodology/approach) Using 350 cases extracted from the 2023 Community Health Survey, we performed Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) on thirteen indicators spanning physical activity, interpersonal contact, formal participation, emotional loneliness, and crisis support. Competing models were evaluated with −LL, AIC, BIC, saBIC, entropy, LMR, and BLRT statistics: A four-class model achieved optimal fit. subsequent ANOVA, χ² tests, and multinomial logit regressions compared social-isolation scores and sociodemographic predictors across latent groups. (Findings) Latent-profile analysis uncovered four groups—socially active, limited activity family-dependent, active outside relationship-vulnerable, and isolated vulnerable—with isolation scores rising steadily across that sequence. The isolated vulnerable segment showed clinically high loneliness, whereas the socially active group recorded the lowest levels. Being female, aged eighty-plus, low-educated, or a basic-livelihood recipient significantly increased the likelihood of belonging to the most vulnerable profile. (Research implications or Originality) By integrating behavioural, relational, and emotional dimensions within a single person-centred model, the research highlights the heterogeneous pathways leading to isolation and pinpoints subgroup-specific leverage points. The typology underlines the need for tiered interventions—ranging from light-touch neighbourhood engagement for the Limited-Activity group to intensive, home-visit programmes for the Isolated Vulnerable segment—thereby advancing precision social-policy design for depopulating rural contexts.
Abstract
(Purpose) The Purpose of this study is to profile the multifaceted nature of social isolation among older adults living alone in Korean regions facing population decline, offering an evidence base for community leaders and welfare planners who must design targeted countermeasures in areas threatened by regional extinction. (Design/methodology/approach) Using 350 cases extracted from the 2023 Community Health Survey, we performed Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) on thirteen indicators spanning physical activity, interpersonal contact, formal participation, emotional loneliness, and crisis support. Competing models were evaluated with −LL, AIC, BIC, saBIC, entropy, LMR, and BLRT statistics: A four-class model achieved optimal fit. subsequent ANOVA, χ² tests, and multinomial logit regressions compared social-isolation scores and sociodemographic predictors across latent groups. (Findings) Latent-profile analysis uncovered four groups—socially active, limited activity family-dependent, active outside relationship-vulnerable, and isolated vulnerable—with isolation scores rising steadily across that sequence. The isolated vulnerable segment showed clinically high loneliness, whereas the socially active group recorded the lowest levels. Being female, aged eighty-plus, low-educated, or a basic-livelihood recipient significantly increased the likelihood of belonging to the most vulnerable profile. (Research implications or Originality) By integrating behavioural, relational, and emotional dimensions within a single person-centred model, the research highlights the heterogeneous pathways leading to isolation and pinpoints subgroup-specific leverage points. The typology underlines the need for tiered interventions—ranging from light-touch neighbourhood engagement for the Limited-Activity group to intensive, home-visit programmes for the Isolated Vulnerable segment—thereby advancing precision social-policy design for depopulating rural contexts.