There are few empirical studies about instant messaging, and the measurements used are somewhat diverse. The main purpose of this study was to investigate if depression and loneliness differed in relation to instant message habits among young adolescents. Special focus was also on motivation behind, and time spent on instantmessaging. The study was conducted using a self report questionnaire,using 3 factors for motivation and 8 items to measure time. The 365 participants were between ages 12 and 16. The study found that depression and loneliness differed in many ways depending on what measurement compared with. The conclusion drawn is that future studies have to use more precise measurements. / Det finns få empiriska studier om chattande och de mått som används varierar. Huvudsyftet med den här studien var att undersöka om depression och ensamhet skilde sig i relation till chatt-vanor blandunga tonåringar. Speciellt fokus låg också på motivation bakom och tid spenderad med chattande. Studien genomfördes med ensjälvrapports frågeformulär och använde tre faktorer för motivation och 8 items för att mäta tid. De 365 deltagarna var mellan åldrarna 12till 16. Studien fann att depression och ensamhet skiljde sig på mångasätt beroende på vad för mått man jämförde med. Slutsatsen som drasär att framtida studier måste använda mer precisa mått.

This is a qualitative research centred on factors related to depressing and mental health among elderly Chinese immigrant women living in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine those social factors that affect or contribute to depression or other forms of mental illness among elderly Chinese immigrant women. Qualitative content analysis was used. Reports of organisations concerned with elderly Chinese immigrants, qualitative research articles on elderly Chinese immigrant women, and government reports and publications were analysed based on their content. From the data, three main categories were developed. These are pre-migration, settlement experiences and health promotion. Some of the themes or sub –categories under these three main categories include the following: separation, isolation and loneliness, family and economic dependence, communication barriers, physical and psychological illness, transportation and food challenges, and empowerment. These themes or sub-categories were presented alongside the general conditions affecting elderly immigrant women as reported by other literature. From these findings several recommendations with regards to feminist health promotion were discussed. These include empowerment, making health social support accessible, family connectedness and others.

While there are exemplary studies on the relationships between social networks and media such as television and the Internet, less is known about the social network consequences of mobile phone use during life-stage transitions. This study investigates the roles that mobile phones play in supporting the relationships of young people as they transition to and through their first-year of university in Toronto, Canada. Focussing on information practices during a transition that tests the resilience of support networks, this study queried the extent to which mobile phones play a role in keeping relationships intact, enabling students to maintain a sense of social cohesion and belonging. Data were collected from November 2007 to September 2008 through a longitudinal research design. Socio-technical concepts and network analysis techniques were applied to analyze the ways in which mobile communication is embedded in the everyday social life of young people aged 17-34. Set within the culturally-specific context of urban Canada, the data provided substantial evidence that mobile phones foster social cohesion within intimate relations but provide a more tenuous platform from which to nurture new relationships. First-year undergraduates have integrated the mobile phone into the way they engage with their social networks to a considerable degree, with commuter students experiencing additional tensions in negotiating relationships from home and on-campus. Findings showed that mobile phones were the devices of choice to mitigate feelings of loneliness, with deleterious consequences for the development of new relationships. Furthermore, the mobile phone was a key contributor to a rising sense of empowerment and autonomy for young adults as they negotiated identity transformations during their rite of passage into adulthood. Issues of trust and reciprocity in forming new relationships were mediated through a continuum of social media of which the mobile phone was the most intimate. Evidence of continuous access to social networks has broader implications for how mechanisms for coping with being alone and disconnection are acquired in this generation. Finally, observations of ritualistic interaction practices involving mobile phones may be theorized as small-scale evidence of larger societal shifts from collective constructs of community to that of networked individuals.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of physical activity experiences to older women. A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design was used. A purposeful sample of 9 women, age 67 to 83 years old, enrolled in a group physical activity program participated in the study. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, artifact documentation, and descriptive and reflective fieldnotes. The transcripts and significance of the artifacts were analyzed using thematic line-by-line analysis. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis, trading roles, a happier me, and pride and delight. <p>Trading roles refers to the womens perceptions of a new era of their lives given the transition experienced in their life roles. Many of the things they considered stable in their lives changed. Friends dropped away, family moved, they no longer fulfilled the role of wife, and their active grandmothering period was ending. <p>The theme, a happier me, speaks of the impact their involvement in a physical activity program had on their social lives. Living as widowed or single women, they recognized that they could become isolated within their own homes. Engaging in a physical activity program provided a context where they could expand their social network. The interaction with others in a physical activity program brought a sense of happiness and well-being to their days.<p>The theme, pride and delight, captures the deep understanding of their own sense of well-being and took pride in planning and developing the physical activity program. The assumption that more knowledgeable others must plan, implement, and evaluate programs to meet the needs of older adults was challenged by these participants. <p>The meanings of the experiences were interpreted with the support of Weiss (1973) theoretical framework on loneliness. The results of the study highlighted the importance of the contacts made in the physical activity program to the social network of the women, including provisions of attachment, nurturance, and social integration. Physical activity programs for older adults have the potential to expand the social network of older adults and with further research may prove to be an effective intervention for social isolation and ultimately loneliness.

While there are exemplary studies on the relationships between social networks and media such as television and the Internet, less is known about the social network consequences of mobile phone use during life-stage transitions. This study investigates the roles that mobile phones play in supporting the relationships of young people as they transition to and through their first-year of university in Toronto, Canada. Focussing on information practices during a transition that tests the resilience of support networks, this study queried the extent to which mobile phones play a role in keeping relationships intact, enabling students to maintain a sense of social cohesion and belonging. Data were collected from November 2007 to September 2008 through a longitudinal research design. Socio-technical concepts and network analysis techniques were applied to analyze the ways in which mobile communication is embedded in the everyday social life of young people aged 17-34. Set within the culturally-specific context of urban Canada, the data provided substantial evidence that mobile phones foster social cohesion within intimate relations but provide a more tenuous platform from which to nurture new relationships. First-year undergraduates have integrated the mobile phone into the way they engage with their social networks to a considerable degree, with commuter students experiencing additional tensions in negotiating relationships from home and on-campus. Findings showed that mobile phones were the devices of choice to mitigate feelings of loneliness, with deleterious consequences for the development of new relationships. Furthermore, the mobile phone was a key contributor to a rising sense of empowerment and autonomy for young adults as they negotiated identity transformations during their rite of passage into adulthood. Issues of trust and reciprocity in forming new relationships were mediated through a continuum of social media of which the mobile phone was the most intimate. Evidence of continuous access to social networks has broader implications for how mechanisms for coping with being alone and disconnection are acquired in this generation. Finally, observations of ritualistic interaction practices involving mobile phones may be theorized as small-scale evidence of larger societal shifts from collective constructs of community to that of networked individuals.

There is a contradiction between not wanting to be alone, craving for fellowship, but still not wanting to socialize with just anybody. The purpose with this paper is to inquire into individuals experiences of loneliness and of fellowship, as well as the tension between individual/ and social needs. The empirical material consists of five semistrucured interviews with a mix of individuals with one common factor; they were all frequently visited the meeting/place Nyfiket in Helsingborg during the summer 2011. The result were interpreted on the basis of E.Goffmans theory concerning the inevitable role-playing in everyday life, E.Fromms discussion about individuals ongoing espace towards- or away from things in life. But also on the basis of Robert S. Weiss theory about provisions of different social relationships, and T. J.Scheff argumentation concerning the balance between closeness and distance when it comes to social bonds. This study showed that each one had or did experience loneliness. Although it also shows that the experience of loneliness as well as fellowship is divided. Loneliness is divided into voluntarily and satisfying or involontarily and awful. It also came to my understandning that intercourse provides with goodness but also comes with strenuous requirements as roleexpectations. The individuals though shared a wish for possibilities to socialize without requirements. / Det förekommer en motsägelse beträffande att inte vilja vara ensam, med en längtan efter gemenskap, men samtidigt inte vilja umgås med vem som helst. Syftet med denna studie är att kvalitativt undersöka individers upplevelse av ensamhet och gemenskap samt spänningen mellan individuella- och social behov. Materialet består av fem genomförda semistrukturerade intervjuer med ett blandat urval individer med en gemensam faktor; de var alla återkommande besökare på mötesplatsen Nyfiket i Helsingborg under sommaren 2011. Intervjueresultatet tolkades utifrån E.Goffmans rollbegrepp, E.Fromms tankar om indidivdens flykt till- eller flykt från något. Samt utifrån Robert S. Weiss teori om sex förnödenheter av social tillförsel och T.J.Scheffs resonemang kring balansen mellan närhet och distans vilka fordras för individens fulla3välbefinnande.Studien visar att var och en har upplevt- eller upplever en känsla ensamhet. Dock visar det sig att ensamhetens- såväl som gemenskapens påverkan är tvåsidig. Ensamhet som delas upp i två kategorier av informanterna kan vara ofrivillig och avskyvärd alternativt tillfredställande då den är självvald. Gemenskap har likaså antingen en positiv inverkan eller en negativ, om det senare alternativet innebär påfrestande rollförväntningar. En önskan om utökad gemenskap samt möjligheter till kravlöst umgänge uttrycks hos samtliga.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of physical activity experiences to older women. A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design was used. A purposeful sample of 9 women, age 67 to 83 years old, enrolled in a group physical activity program participated in the study. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, artifact documentation, and descriptive and reflective fieldnotes. The transcripts and significance of the artifacts were analyzed using thematic line-by-line analysis. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis, trading roles, a happier me, and pride and delight. <p>Trading roles refers to the womens perceptions of a new era of their lives given the transition experienced in their life roles. Many of the things they considered stable in their lives changed. Friends dropped away, family moved, they no longer fulfilled the role of wife, and their active grandmothering period was ending. <p>The theme, a happier me, speaks of the impact their involvement in a physical activity program had on their social lives. Living as widowed or single women, they recognized that they could become isolated within their own homes. Engaging in a physical activity program provided a context where they could expand their social network. The interaction with others in a physical activity program brought a sense of happiness and well-being to their days.<p>The theme, pride and delight, captures the deep understanding of their own sense of well-being and took pride in planning and developing the physical activity program. The assumption that more knowledgeable others must plan, implement, and evaluate programs to meet the needs of older adults was challenged by these participants. <p>The meanings of the experiences were interpreted with the support of Weiss (1973) theoretical framework on loneliness. The results of the study highlighted the importance of the contacts made in the physical activity program to the social network of the women, including provisions of attachment, nurturance, and social integration. Physical activity programs for older adults have the potential to expand the social network of older adults and with further research may prove to be an effective intervention for social isolation and ultimately loneliness.

Antalet äldre människor i Sverige ökar. Ensamhet förekommer främst hos äldre och påverkar deras livskvalité. Det är viktigt att ha kunskap om äldre människors upplevelser av ensamhet för att kunna främja hälsa och välbefinnande. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa äldre människors upplevelser av ensamhet. En kvalitativ analysmetod vilket består av tre faser helhet-delar-helhet användes för att analysera data och datainsamling skedde genom intervjuer med nio äldre människor över 65 år. Intervjuerna spelades in på band och transkriberades. Ur analysen framkom tre huvudkategorier med tillhörande underkategorier bildades. Resultatet visade att när respondenterna förlorade sin partner blev upplevelsen av ensamhet påtaglig. Familj, vänner och sociala aktiviteter kunde förebygga eller minska äldre människors känsla av ensamhet. Att känna sig självständig och kravlös var en positiv upplevelse av ensamhet. Det fanns en rädsla hos respondenterna att bli lämnad ensam om de skulle bli sjuka. Det var viktigt för äldre människor att bli respekterade som unika människor och att känna gemenskap. / The number of elderly people is increasing in Sweden. Loneliness occurs specially among elderly and it can affect their quality of life. It is important to gain knowledge of elderly people´s experiences of loneliness to improve health and well-being. The aim of this study is to illuminate older people´s experiences of loneliness. A qualitative analysis method which contained three phages whole-part-whole was used to analyze the data. The data were collected through interviews with nine elderly people over 65 years old. Interviews were recorded in the tape and transcribed. From analysis it appeared three main categories with associated subcategories. Result indicated that when respondents lost their partner, the experiences of loneliness were substantial. Family, friends and social activities could prevent or reduce elderly people´s feeling of loneliness. To feel independent and undemanding was the positive experiences of loneliness. There was fearfulness among respondents of being left alone if they would become sick. It was important for elderly people to be respected as a unique human being and to feel togetherness with others. / Är redan presenterat.

Bakgrund: Andelen äldre i befolkningen blir allt större i många länder så även i Sverige. Ensamhet är ett aktuellt folkhälsoproblem för denna åldersgrupp. Det finns flera mer eller mindre omfattande definitioner av ensamhet inom forskningen vilket är ett bevis på hur komplext begreppet är. Det finns flera olika orsaker till varför en människa blir ensam och vad detta kan leda till. En viktig aspekt av ensamheten är att den även har en självvald positiv sida som kan leda till hälsa, något som är lätt att förbise då man oftast tänker på ensamhet som lidande inom vården. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att ta reda på hur ensamheten hos äldre kan lindras och vad som gör den uthärdlig samt vilka omvårdnadsåtgärder sjuksköterskan kan vidta för att lindra och förebygga ensamhet. Metod: Uppsatsen är en litteraturöversikt som syftar till att ge en övergripande bild av hur forskningen på området ser ut. Vi har med hjälp av en manifest innehållsanalys skapat huvudkategorier och teman utifrån de vetenskapliga dokument som uppsatsen baseras på. Resultat: Forskningen identifierar flera olika faktorer som kan lindra ensamheten hos individen däribland främjandet av det sociala nätverket. Sjuksköterskans arbete kan inriktas på att utveckla det sociala nätverket men även på att bland annat främja kontakten med patienten.   Diskussion: Genom att använda Virginia Hendersons omvårdnadsteori tolkade vi uppsatsens innehåll och fann bland annat att det är sjuksköterskans uppgift att hjälpa patienten att nå sina mål. Målen kan bestå i att göra ensamheten uthärdlig genom vardagliga aktiviteter som exempelvis att läsa. Målen kan även handla om att sjusköterskan måste agera tolk för patienten när det kommer till att utveckla befintliga eller nya sociala relationer.

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate predictive value of gender, attachment dimensions, and family environment in determining students&amp / #8217 / loneliness level. For this purpose, firstly, the effect of gender, attachment types and family environment on loneliness level was investigated. The participants of the study were 473 (281 females and 192 males) students from different departments of Ankara University. Participants were administered UCLA Loneliness Scale, Family Environment Assessment Scale, and Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire. Data analysis were carried out by three-way ANOVA (2 gender X 2 Family Environment X 4 Attachment Type) to investigate the effect of gender, attachment types and family environment on loneliness level and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis to investigate predictive value of gender, attachment dimensions, and family environment in determining students&amp / #8217 / loneliness level. The results of three-way ANOVA yielded that while main effects were significant, interaction effects were not significant. Post-hoc analysis revealed that male students were lonelier than females / Families with low coherence scores were lonelier than families with high coherence scores and individuals with fearful pattern of attachment were lonelier than individuals with secure, dismissing, and preoccupied patterns of attachment. Stepwise multiple regression analysis also showed that, attachment types, family environment and gender together explained the 19 % of variance in loneliness.