Self-Esteem of the Elderly in Rural Areas of Nakhon Sawan Province
Sutham Nanthamongkolchai PhD*, Arunsiri Makapat MSc*, Phitaya Charupoonphol MD*, Chokchai Munsawaengsub MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Family Health, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University
Objective : Study self-esteem of the elderly and factors related.
Materials and Methods : A cross-sectional survey of two hundred and seventy elderly, aged 60 or above in rural
areas of Nakhon Sawan Province. The data were collected by interview questionnaire from May 12 to May 25,
2003. Statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson
product moment correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple regression.
Results : More than half of the elderly (65.6%) had a moderate level of self-esteem, followed by a low level
(19.3%) and a high level (15.1%). The factors that were statistically significant related to self-esteem of the
elderly (p-value < 0.05) were monthly income, activities of daily living, personality, participation in family
activities, participation in social activities, and social support. In addition, social support, participation in
social activities, personality, and participation in family activities could significantly predict self-esteem of
the elderly by 58.2%. The factor with highest predictive power of self-esteem was social support.
Conclusion : Elderly should be encouraged to participate in family and social activities. The level of social
support should be high enough for the elderly to maintain their self-esteem so that they can have live happily
without burden to family and society.
Keywords : Self-esteem, Social support, Elderly
