LONELINESS

Definition and theory

Loneliness is an affective emotional condition experienced when a person feels apart from familiar social supports. It is a psychosocial condition that is differentially experienced within different cultures. Most developments in this condition have been observed in the United States and Europe. Among those not in institutions, studies show that less than 20 percent of older persons experience loneliness. There is some evidence to suggest that loneliness increases with increasing totality of institutionalization. Over the life span, loneliness seems to vary curvilinearily by age. It is highest among adolescents, declines into late middle age, then increases again with advancing older age.

Theoretical conceptualizations of loneliness can be categorized as: 1) the social needs approach, with foundations in the social developmental approaches and the social support perspectives; 2) the behavioral-personality approach; and 3) the cognitive processes approach. Common to these approaches are three points. Loneliness is: 1) a subjective emotional experience that may be unrelated to actual social isolation, that is, aloneness; 2) an aversive psychological condition; and 3) caused by some form of social relationship deficit.

Measurement instruments to assess loneliness include scales developed by Russell, Peplau, and Cutrona (1980), van Tilburg and de Jong Gierveld (1999), and Vincenzi and Grabosky (1989).

The loneliness related to emotional isolation results from the absence of a person with whom one is emotionally connected. The loneliness experienced is a psychological state characterized by feelings of loss, distress, separation, and isolation. Loneliness resulting from social isolation is related to a person's perceived isolation from those around him or her. The emotional condition of loneliness in this regard is influenced by a deficit in the quantity of relationships, and/or the lack of relatedness to the social environment.

Loneliness and selected factors

Background issues related to loneliness include the following:

• Gender. Gender is a more consistent predictor of loneliness than is age. Studies show that either gender has no effect on loneliness, or that women are more lonely than men.
• Race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity have not been systematically examined with regard to loneliness. Cross-racial, or cross-ethnic, comparisons of loneliness and its antecedents have not yet been conducted in a manner that lends any clarity to interpretation.
• Urban/rural residence. It is commonly held that urban elders are more lonely and isolated than their rural counterparts, though research has not consistently confirmed this stereotype.
• Health. The overall weight of the evidence points to a reasonably strong and consistent association between poorer physical and/or mental health, and greater loneliness.

Interpersonal relationships also factor into an individual's potential loneliness.

• Spouse. Results indicate greater loneliness in the absence of a mate. Severe loneliness appears to be unusual among married men, somewhat more prevalent among married women, and quite prevalent among unmarried individuals of either sex.
• Children. Studies of the relationship between adult children and loneliness show conflicting results. Most have found no association between frequency of contact with children and loneliness. The commitment in the relationship seems to be more important than the actual contact.
• Friends. Research shows that close friends exert a positive influence on the emotional well-being of older persons. Older persons who have contact with their friends, and especially those who are satisfied with these relationships, are less lonely.

The two essential aspects of loneliness, i.e., the loneliness associated with social isolation and/or with emotional isolation, shows that they can be experienced as an affective emotional experience in which a person feels apart from other persons and from familiar support networks. In turn, this can lead to a realization that social contacts are diminishing, lacking, or not at a level that are emotionally supportive or satisfying.

Larry C. Mullins

See also Depression; Social Support.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Andersson, L. "A Model of Estrangement—Including a Theoretical Understanding of Loneliness." Psychological Reports 58 (1986): 683.

Hall-Elston, C., and Mullins, L. "Social Relationships, Emotional Closeness and Loneliness among Older Meal Participants." Social Behavior and Personality 27 (1999): 503.

Johnson, D., and Mullins, L. "Growing Old and Lonely in Different Societies: Toward a Comparative Perspective." Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 1 (1987): 257.

Marangoni, C., and Ickes, W. "Loneliness: A Theoretical Review with Implications for Measurement." Journal of Social Psychology 116 (1989): 269.

Peplau, L., and Perlman, D., ed. Loneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research and Therapy. New York: Wiley, 1982.

Russell, D.; Peplau, L.; and Cutrona, C. "The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and Discriminant Validity Evidence." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39 (1980): 472.

Van Tilburg, T., and de Jong Gierveld, J. "Cesuurbepaling van de Eenzaamheidsschall [Cutting Scores on the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale]." Tijdschrift voor Gerontologie en Geriatrie 30 (1999): 158.

Vencenzi, H., and Grabosky, F. "Measuring the Emotional/Social Aspects of Loneliness and Isolation." In Loneliness: Theory, Research, and Applications. Edited by M. Hojat and R. Crandall. Newberry Park, Calif.: Sage, 1989. Pages 257–270.

Weiss, R. Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1973.