Abstract
The purpose of this study was to verify the use of Seo's Elderly Stress Scale (SESS),
which was developed in 1996. Through the modified tool, it is possible to examine the
stress of Korean elders and to contribute to the welfare of them.
The subjects were 350 elders over 65 years old who live in Seoul, Kwang-Ju, Yang-Ju
Gun Kyung-ki Do, Ui-Jong Bu, and Young-Am Kun, Jeun-Ra Nam Do. the data of 331
elders (94%) were analyzed. Data were collected between January and March in 1996
and analyzed using the SPSS Win 8.0.
The result are as follows:
1. Items with low correlation with the total items were removed. So 27 items were
removed and 37 items remained. This 37 items were death in the family and/or close
friends, family member's behavior not meeting expectations, marriage of daughter,
marriage of son, friction with daughter- in-law, argument among children, children
refuse to live with parent, children leaving home, sex injury or accident, in frequest
visits from children and grandchildren, providing care for your daughter or
daughter-in-law post-partum, decrease in decision making and authority in home,
Lunar new year and the harvest featival, house sitting, working in the house,
performing a sacrificial rite, missed birthday, not living with the eldest son, decreased
eyesight, decreased strength, decreased memory, sleep pattern changes, thoughts
about death, loneliness, decreased hearing, change of dental condition, change in your
diet or eating style, difficulty in self care, moving because of disease or aging,
argument with friend or neighbour, travel, dealing with the procedure of heritage,
loss of money or property, not enough pocket money, hearing on elderly neglect in
television or radio, hope of going home and ignorant from others.
2. Overlapped items were discussed by colleagues and were modified. 'marriage of
daughter' and 'marriage of son' were modified in 'marriage of children'. 'self injury
or accidents' and 'family accidents' were modified in to self or family accidents.
3. Factor analysis was done in order to identify validity and three factors were obtained
from the result. The first factor familial relation area, included 17 items. The second
factor, physical area, included 9 items. The third factor, psycho-socio-economic area,
included 9 items. Cronbach coefficient alpha for the 35 items was .923.
4. Pearson's correlation was .704 between SESS and SOS (Symptoms of Stress) in
order to confirm construct validity.
Based on the result, the following is suggested;
1. The modified SESS needs to be reverified with elder.
2. Korean elder's health promotion can be made by development of stress intervention
which was accurately measured with SESS.