Abstract: Objective: To investigate the social adaptation level of the migrant elderly, and the relationship among demographic data, self-acceptance, loneliness, family intimacy and adaptability. Methods: A total of 168 migrant elderly were investigated. The Social Adaptation Scale, Self-acceptance Questionnaire, the short-form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale were used to collect the data. The social adaptability of the elderly and the related factors were analyzed. Results: The average score of family adaptation was 21.36±5.43. The comparison between groups showed that older people from rural areas were significantly more socially maladapted than those from urban areas, especially in the dimension of psychological adaptation. For the old people in new cities within one year, the total scores of the adjustment of interpersonal relationships and social maladjustment significantly increased, P<0.05. The correlation analysis and multi-factor regression analysis showed that the independent factors affecting the social adaptation of the migrant elderly were loneliness, self-acceptance, whether from rural area and whether migration time over 1 year by the descending order, which explained 52.30% of the total variance. Conclusion: In order to improve the social adaptability of the migrant elderly, community nurses can improve self-acceptance and decrease loneliness of the elderly, and pay attention to the elderly who come from rural areas and migrate within one year.

Key words: migrant elderly; social adaptation; self-acceptance; loneliness; Strength Perspective Theory