Abstract

Given the growing concerns about loneliness among the elderly in rural areas, this study investigates the patterns of social capital in rural area elderly, and examines the levels of loneliness associated with each pattern. Employing data from 253 rural area elderly, latent profile analysis, multinomial logistic regression, and ANOVA were performed. The results reveal that the social capital of elderly in rural areas can be divided into three classes: 1) trust and cohesion 2) multi-capital 3) low-capital. For determining the patterns, gender, education, and chronic disease were shown to be influencing variables. In the ANOVA results, elderly people who fell into the low-capital pattern showed significantly higher loneliness than the other two patterns. Based on these results, the study suggests policy and practical implications for relieving the loneliness of elderly people in rural areas.