A Study On The Interrelationship Among Nostalgia, Alienation, And Feeling Of Self-worth Of Adults

Based on a review of previous studies on both Western and Chinese youths, this thesis explores the characteristics of Chinese adults’nostalgia, alienation, and feeling of self-worth, analyzes the differences of nostalgia caused by such demographic variables as age, genda, and profession, and studies the predictive effects of alienation and feeling of self-worth on nostalgia. After carrying out a confirmatory factor analysis on Indigenous Nostalgia Scale (Lu Manman,2008), Alienation Scale of Youths (Yang Dong,2000), and Questionnaire about Adults’Feeling of Self-worth (Luo Yanping,2010), the present study takes707adults, whose age ranges from21to59, from five professions as object of study. Through data analysis and structural equation model, the study reaches the following conclusions:1. The analysis of Indigenous Nostalgia Scale, Alienation Scale of Youths, Questionnaire about Adults’Feeling of Self-worth are suitable for this study.2. The overall average score of adults’nostalgia is5.669. The average score of family nostalgia is the highest, while that of the personal nostalgia is the is lowest.3. The gender difference of adults’nostalgia is not significant. The main effect of age on adults’nostalgia is significant. Generally speaking, nostalgia increases with age. The main effect of profession on adults’nostalgia is significant. On the whole, the order of incremental nostalgia is like this:workers, teachers, people working in government agencies, servicemen, postgraduate students.4. Alienation is significantly positively predictive of nostalgia, while feeling of self-worth is significantly negatively predictive of nostalgia. Alienation plays a partial mediating role between feeling of self-worth and nostalgia. The value of mediating effect is up to25.30%of the value of overall effect,.5. Through empirical data analysis, this study shows that:alienation and feeling of self-worth are internal factors affecting adults’nostalgia; among those above-mentioned demographic variables, age and profession are external factors affecting adults’nostalgia.The present study enriches the study on adults’nostalgia in China and lays the foundation for further analysis of the mental mechanism of nostalgia. Meanwhile, the study finds out that nostalgia and alienation increase with age. Thus, it sheds some light on how to take care of the mental health of the elders from the perspectives of alienation and feeling of self-worth. Therefore, this study is not only theoretically but also practically meaningful.