Table 1.
Demographic characteristics and the loneliness among the migrant elderly following children in Jinan, China
| Variables | N (%) | Mean score of ULS-8 (SD) | T/F value | P value |
| Total | 656 (100) | 12.82 (4.05) | ||
| Gender of the elderly | ||||
| Male | 238 (36.3) | 12.66 (4.14) | 0.608* | 0.436 |
| Female | 418 (63.7) | 12.92 (4.00) | ||
| Gender of the children | ||||
| Male | 521 (79.4) | 12.80 (4.09) | 0.055* | 0.814 |
| Female | 135 (20.6) | 12.90 (3.91) | ||
| Age | ||||
| 60–69 | 552 (84.1) | 12.82 (4.03) | 3.354† | 0.036 |
| 70–75 | 73 (11.1) | 12.18 (3.92) | ||
| Over 75 | 31 (4.7) | 14.42 (4.40) | ||
| Marital status | ||||
| Currently married | 583 (88.9) | 12.73 (4.03) | 1.592* | 0.112 |
| Single‡ | 73 (11.1) | 13.53 (4.16) | ||
| Employment status | ||||
| Employed | 37 (5.6) | 12.62 (4.29) | 2.416† | 0.090 |
| Retired | 131 (20.0) | 12.15 (3.88) | ||
| Unemployed | 488 (74.4) | 13.02 (4.07) | ||
| Educational level | ||||
| Illiterate | 196 (29.9) | 13.36 (4.18) | 1.765† | 0.152 |
| Primary school | 144 (22.0) | 12.75 (3.94) | ||
| Junior middle school | 192 (29.3) | 12.55 (4.04) | ||
| High school and above | 124 (18.9) | 12.48 (3.97) | ||
| Monthly income (RMB) | ||||
| Less than 100 | 221 (33.7) | 12.66 (4.18) | 9.028† | <0.001 |
| 101–600 | 155 (23.6) | 14.23 (4.30) | ||
| 601–2000 | 177 (27.0) | 12.21 (3.51) | ||
| More than 2000 | 103 (15.7) | 12.12 (3.78) | ||
| Migration duration | ||||
| Under 1 year | 69 (10.5) | 13.16 (4.05) | 5.247† | <0.001 |
| 1–2 years | 60 (9.1) | 14.02 (3.93) | ||
| 2–5 years | 199 (30.3) | 13.42 (4.13) | ||
| 5–10 years | 234 (35.7) | 12.37 (4.03) | ||
| Over 10 years | 94 (14.3) | 11.68 (3.64) | ||
| Spatial type of migration | ||||
| Across district/county | 146 (22.3) | 12.32 (3.66) | 1.650† | 0.193 |
| Across prefecture-level city | 441 (67.2) | 12.92 (4.16) | ||
| Across the province | 69 (10.5) | 13.26 (4.08) | ||
| Number of migrants | ||||
| Alone | 233 (35.5) | 12.82 (4.06) | 0.938† | 0.422 |
| Two (with spouse) | 394 (60.1) | 12.78 (4.05) | ||
| Two (with other kin) | 3 (0.5) | 16.67 (7.64) | ||
| Over two | 26 (4.0) | 13.04 (3.66) | ||
| Temporary residential permit | ||||
| Yes | 231 (35.2) | 11.95 (3.79) | 4.107* | <0.001 |
| No | 425 (64.8) | 13.30 (4.12) | ||
| Willingness of migration | ||||
| Totally reluctant | 14 (2.1) | 14.21 (4.89) | 5.957† | <0.001 |
| Partially reluctant | 12 (1.8) | 12.08 (3.45) | ||
| Normally | 34 (5.2) | 14.41 (4.04) | ||
| Partially willing | 152 (23.2) | 13.83 (4.16) | ||
| Totally willing | 444 (67.7) | 12.33 (3.92) |
*T value.
†F value.
‡Single included those who were unmarried (1, 0.2%), divorced (5, 0.8%), widowed (58, 8.8%) and under other circumstances (9, 1.4%).
SD, Standard deviation; ULS-8, eight-item version of University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale.