Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss. Loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact.
The correlation analyses reveal that having an immigration background, living alone, lower educational attainment, inadequacy of financial resources, having a disability, risk of anxiety and depression, and providing burdensome informal care are positively associated with loneliness in early, middle and late adulthood ...
These include social skills training, community and support groups, befriending, and cognitive behavioural therapy. Creating more age-friendly communities by improving access to transportation and information and communication technologies can also help reduce social isolation and loneliness.
Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and even death.
Emotional loneliness is the absence of a significant other with whom a close attachment or meaningful relationship existed (a partner or close friend). Social loneliness is the lack of a wider social network of friends, neighbours or colleagues.
Contributing factors to loneliness include situational variables, such as physical isolation, moving to a new location, and divorce. 2 The death of someone significant in a person's life can also lead to feelings of loneliness. Loneliness can also be attributed to internal factors such as low self-esteem.
Numerous studies have shown that loneliness is a major risk factor for depression, with increased symptoms in both middle-aged and older adults. Socially isolated seniors are more likely to predict their quality of life will get worse, and are more concerned about needing help from community programs as they get older.
Older adults are at higher risk for social isolation and loneliness due to changes in health and social connections that can come with growing older, hearing, vision, and memory loss, disability, trouble getting around, and/or the loss of family and friends.
It peaks for adults in the 25-34 age group – sometimes called the 'age of anxiety' – when you have the pressures of travelling, finding a life partner, building a career, buying a house, and starting a family. The pressure and rejection of not achieving all these milestones can make you feel lonely.
Loneliness is a common feeling, but there are steps you can take to help feel more connected. Listening to music, calling a friend, taking a walk outside, and other activities may reduce your sense of isolation. Loneliness is going around, and it's having a pretty big impact.
Stay in touch with friends and family.
It is great to see people in person, but phone calls, social media and emails can help keep you connected too. If you're not yet comfortable with computers, ask a young relative, friend or neighbour to help you.
Loneliness affects people in different ways, and for this reason there are four distinct types of loneliness identified by psychologists: emotional, social, situational and chronic.
Social isolation and depression in older adults
Everyone needs social connections to survive and thrive. But as people age, they often find themselves spending more time alone. Studies show that loneliness and social isolation are associated with higher rates of depression.
Encourage them to connect with anyone who they assess to be genuine, and who is around you. Following their instincts about people can be important here. Set up social activities when they're not feeling lonely. Plan in advance if possible.
Most notably, researchers found that loneliness rates peak among people in their 20s, and reach their lowest point among those in their 60s. Many people also experience a spike in lonely feelings around their mid-40s. These findings are as confounding as they are surprising, at least initially.
Researchers find that loneliness ebbs and flows as we age, in relatively predictable ways. Counterintuitively, we tend to be lonelier when young—and also when old. Among those high-risk groups, as many as one quarter of people may feel lonely on a regular basis.
It included 39 studies from 29 countries and found that, on average, one in four adults over 60 reports feeling lonely. For those aged more than 75, the figure is almost one in three (31%).