Loneliness and risk of mortality: A longitudinal investigation in Alameda County,California

We investigated the prospective impact of self-reported loneliness on all-cause mortality, mortality from ischemic disease and mortality from other cardiovascular diseases. We tested these effects through GEE binomial regression models applied to longitudinal data from the Alameda County Study of persons aged 21 and over arranged into person-years. Controlling for age and gender, the chances of all-cause mortality were significantly higher among respondents reporting that they often feel lonely compared to those who report that they never feel lonely. Frequent loneliness was not significantly associated with mortality from ischemic heart disease but more than doubled the odds of mortality from other ailments of the circulatory system in models controlling for age and gender. Subsequent models showed that physical activity and depression may be important mediators of loneliness-mortality associations. Finally, we find support for the contention that chronic loneliness significantly increases risk of mortality but also find reason to believe that relatively recent changes in feelings of loneliness increase risk of mortality as well.     

Loneliness in mid-life and older adults from ethnic minority communities in England and Wales: measure validation and prevalence estimates

We investigated the prevalence of loneliness among 1206 adults aged 40 + from six minority communities in England and Wales: Black Caribbean, Black African, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese. Replicating the approach from the previous studies, we demonstrate robust acceptability, reliability and validity for both the six-item De Jong Gierveld (DJG) and single-item loneliness scales in our six ethnic groups. The prevalence of loneliness using a single-item question (loneliness reported as often/always) ranges from 5% (Indian) to 14% (Chinese) compared with approximately 5% for the general population aged 40 + in Britain. Levels of loneliness are very much higher using the DJG scale. Using a loneliness threshold score of 5 +, the percentage ranged from 13% (Indian) to 36% (Chinese). We explored the importance of six established loneliness vulnerability factors for our sample using regression modelling. Three factors were not associated with loneliness—number of children, gender and health rating, and three factors were protective: younger age, being married and low financial strain. The addition of ethnicity did not change these relationships or enhance statistical power of our models. Being a member of the African Caribbean group was protective against loneliness but not for the other groups included in our study. We suggest that exposure to loneliness vulnerability factors rather than ethnicity per se or measurement artefact underpins differences in loneliness across ethnic groups.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10433-020-00564-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Cosmic transcendence, loneliness, and exchange of emotional support with adult children: a study among older parents in The Netherlands

Gerotranscendence defines a shift in meta-perspective from earlier materialistic and pragmatic concerns, toward more cosmic and transcendent ones in later life. Population-based studies that have empirically examined this concept using Tornstam’s gerotranscendence scale, highlight cosmic transcendence as a core component, which includes a sense of belongingness with past and future generations. Such generative concerns may increase expectations regarding the quality of the bond with one’s children in later life. This study examined whether the association between emotional support exchanged with children and feelings of loneliness later in life varied by the degree of cosmic transcendence of the older parent. Data from 1,845 older parents participating in a population-based study living in The Netherlands were analyzed from the 1995/1996 cycle of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Interviews included self-report measures of cosmic transcendence, loneliness, emotional support exchanged with children, health indicators, and marital status. Results indicated that a negative association between loneliness and level of emotional support exchanged with children was more pronounced among older parents with higher cosmic transcendence scores, in particular among the married. It is argued that cosmic transcendence reflects a sense of generativity and an increased emotional dependency on children in later life. Under favorable social conditions (supportive relationships with children and being married) cosmic transcendent views had a positive impact on social well-being in later life. When children no longer met emotional needs of older parents, cosmic transcendence increased feelings of loneliness.     

生活满意度在农村学生住宿类型与孤独感中调节/中介效应的分析

目的 探讨生活满意度在农村地区中小学生不同住宿类型与孤独感中的调节/中介效应,为农村中小学生心理卫生问题干预提供理论参考.方法 以农村中小学生为调查对象,采取现况研究设计,应用现场匿名问卷调查法收集资料,内容包括一般健康情况、儿童孤独量表、多维青少年生活满意度问卷.结果 住校生的孤独感评分(35.0±9.5)明显高于住家生(33.1±10.1)(P=0.000),而住校生的学校满意度(33.5±6.3)、朋友满意度(42.1±6.2)、自我满意度(32.4±5.0)评分明显低于住家生(分别为35.9±6.6、42.9±6.6、32.9±5.3)(P<0.01、P<0.01、P<0.05);住宿类型与孤独感评分的关系完全被学校满意度中介[孤独感的标准回归系数从0.043(P<0.05)降低到0.021(P>0.05)],部分被朋友满意度和自我满意度中介.调节效应分析发现,朋友满意度、自我满意度、学校满意度对寄宿制学校与孤独感评分关系的调节效应均无统计学意义.结论 住宿类型和生活满意度对巾小学生孤独感有良好的预测作用,学校满意度在住宿类型与孤独感中完全中介效应显著,对中小学生孤独感的干预可从这些方面着手.     

Rising to the Occasion: A National Nursing Home Study Documenting Attempts to Address Social Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ObjectivesCOVID-19–related policies introduced extraordinary social disruption in nursing homes. In response, nursing facilities implemented strategies to alleviate their residents’ loneliness. This study sought to describe interventions nursing homes used, document the perceived effectiveness of efforts, and determine barriers to implementing strategies to mitigate social isolation and loneliness.DesignNational survey of nursing homes sampled in strata defined by facility size (beds: 30-99, 100+) and quality ratings (1, 2-4, 5).Settings and ParticipantsUS Nursing Home Directors of Nursing/Administrators (n = 1676).MethodsThe survey was conducted between February and May 2022 (response rate: 30%; n = 504, weighted n = 14,506). Weighted analyses provided nationally representative results.ResultsOne-third were extremely concerned about their home's ability to meet residents' medical and social needs during COVID-19 before vaccines were available and 13% after vaccines. Nearly all reported trying to mitigate residents' social isolation during the pandemic. Efforts tried, and perceived as most useful, included using technology (tablets, phones, emails), assigning staff as a family contact, and more staff time with residents. Most frequently cited barriers to implementation were related to staffing issues.Conclusions and ImplicationsDespite multiple challenges, nearly all nursing homes tried to implement many different approaches to address residents’ social needs, with some (eg, having an assigned family contact, use of tablets and phones) perceived as more useful than others. Staffing issues presented barriers for addressing the social needs of nursing home residents. Many strategies for addressing social isolation placed more demands on a workforce already stretched to the limit. While concerns about resident social isolation reduced after vaccine availability, administrators remained extremely concerned about staff burnout and mental health.     

Identity and perceived peer relationship quality in emerging adulthood: The mediating role of attachment-related emotions

Identity formation and the perceived quality of one’s peer relationships are theorized to be intimately linked in emerging adulthood. The present study examined the associations between identity styles (i.e., information-oriented, normative, and diffuse-avoidant styles) and the quality of relationships with peers (as indexed by friendship quality and loneliness) in a sample of 343 college students from Belgium. High scores for the information-oriented style were positively related to friendship quality, whereas high scores for the diffuse-avoidant identity style were positively related to loneliness. These direct associations were mediated, at least in part, by attachment-related emotions (i.e., avoidance and anxiety). These associations, both direct and indirect, provide the first evidence linking identity styles and the quality of peer relationships. Suggestions for future research are provided, both at the methodological and the conceptual level.     

Understanding loneliness during adolescence: Developmental changes that increase the risk of perceived social isolation

Loneliness is typically defined in terms of feeling states. In this review, we take a somewhat different approach, describing loneliness in terms of perceived social isolation. Vulnerabilities to perceived social isolation differ across the lifespan. Unique properties of adolescence are identified that carry special risk for perceived social isolation. These include (but are not limited to) developmental changes in companions, developmental changes in autonomy and individuation, identity exploration, cognitive maturation, developmental changes in social perspective taking, and physical maturation. Scholars are encouraged to consider loneliness through the lens of perceived social isolation so as to better understand how the experience of physical isolation varies across adolescence.     

社区日间照料中心老年人智能手机使用情况与手机依赖、孤独感的关系研究

目的 研究社区日间照料中心老人智能手机使用情况与手机依赖、孤独感的关系,以减少其手机依赖和孤独感。方法 运用一般情况调查表、孤独量表、手机成瘾指数量表和智能手机使用情况调查表,对分层随机抽取的河南省13家社区日间照料中心的363名老人进行调查。结果 被调查者在性别、收入、受教育程度、居住状态、智能手机日均使用时间、手机功能的使用数、社交软件使用数、对朋友圈公众号的关注、陌生人添加自己为好友时的反应等方面对其孤独感造成的差异均具统计学意义（x2=13.162,14.681,15.391,11.853,11.367,13.836,12.759,16.137,9.356;P＜0.05或P＜0.01）;不与配偶居住、不关注朋友圈公众号、不一定拒绝陌生人添加为好友请求的被调查者孤独感更高;被调查者在性别、收入、居住状态维度上手机依赖的差异具有统计学意义（F/t=1.993,11.337,13.569;P＜0.05或P＜0.01）;被调查者在年龄、性别维度与其手机依赖、失控性、戒断性、逃避性、低效性呈显著负相关（r=- 0.663,- 0.689,- 0.356,- 0.637,- 0.518,- 0.295,- 0.426,- 0.528;P＜0.05或P＜0.01）,收入、居住状态与其手机依赖、失控性、戒断性、逃避性、低效性均呈现显著的正相关（r=0.256,0.527,0.206,0.678,0.585,0.628,0.339,0.306;P＜0.05或P＜0.01）;被调查者手机依赖及其4个维度与其孤独感均呈显著正相关（r=0.367,0.479,0.413,0.468,0.389;P＜0.01）。结论 社区日间照料中心老人人口学变量及智能手机使用情况对其手机依赖、孤独感有显著影响。     

Inflammation as a psychophysiological biomarker in chronic psychosocial stress

The measurement of inflammation by biomarkers not only documents clinically relevant infections but also offers an important tool to pin point potentially harmful effects of chronic psychosocial stressors. This article focuses firstly on basic biology of inflammation and lists main biomarkers currently used in psycho-physiologic research. In the second part, the effects of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system as pathways modulating stress-related inflammation are discussed. Furthermore, current evidence of how chronic psychosocial stressors are related to alterations in inflammatory activity is presented. In summary, job stress, low socioeconomic status, childhood adversities as well as life events, caregiver stress, and loneliness were all shown to exert effects on immunologic activity.