Studies have shown that loneliness is increasingly prevalent among the aged, especially those who live in institutions. This study examines the role of social support and differences in loneliness among institutionalised elders, using a face-to-face questionnaire interview in a Shanghai institution. Results show that the prevalence of loneliness among participants was relatively high. Gender, subjective appraisals of relationship with nurses, frequency of being visited by children, frequency of being visited by friends, and subjective appraisals of relationship with roommates were significant predictors of loneliness. The quality of social support was indicated as a significant factor for predicting loneliness rather than its quantity. It is striking that frequency of being visited by children was found to be positively associated with loneliness. This counterintuitive finding suggests that the function of family for those institutionalized elders may be negative under China’s cultural norms, beliefs, and perceptions, which is incongruent with theoretical assumptions in Western countries.

越來越多的研究證據顯示孤獨感不僅常見於老年人群體，更與老人的疾病、認知行為功能的下降密切相關。然而有關機構照顧老人的孤獨感研究在數量上仍然是有限的，我們尤其缺乏中國背景下的認識，而在這一議題上中西方文化存在著大量可能影響研究結果的差異，例如中國文化對於機構養老的污名化傾向。本研究基於中國上海進行了探索，發現性別、與護士的關系等因素都顯著影響著研究對像的孤獨感；相對於社會支持的數量來說，其質量的影響作用更加明顯。令人驚訝的是，研究發現子女探訪頻率與孤獨感呈正相關關系。這一與西方理論假設相反的發現亦指出：在中國文化的背景下，家庭可能對機構照顧老人的精神健康存在著消極影響。

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