Transcript “Loneliness in Mid-and-Later Life”.
Loneliness in Mid and Later life Dan Perlman
• • Only the Lonely, Roy Orbison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjq4wYuw gxs
Today’s Talk • • • Introduction: Definition, Importance Peplau & Perlman Model Loneliness in Mid and Later Life – Demographic Correlates – Life Events & Transitions – Social Correlates – Health and Mortality
D
efinition
Loneliness is the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person’s network of social relations is deficient in some important way, either quantitatively or qualitatively.
S ocial P roblems A ssociated W ith L oneliness • Alcoholism • Suicide • Poor Immune functioning, overuse of health care facilities • Sleep disorders • Poor psychological adjustment • Poor grades • Aggression • Delinquency • Running away from home • Breakdown of society
Anne Peplau • Other collaborators – – Linda Carroll James Check – Ann Gerson – Judith Goldberg – Judy Lobdell – Neil Malamuth – Dan Russell – Kathryn Saulnier
• Peplau and Perlman Discrepancy Model C:\Documents and Settings\D_PERLMA\My Documents\Doc\RESEARCH\geront\LONE_FIG.DOC
The Role of Genetics • • Dutch twins (N=8387) and siblings (N=2295) study The heritability estimate for loneliness was 40% and did not differ between males and females.
• Boomsma, D. I., Cacioppo, J. T., Slagboom, P. E., & Posthuma, D. (2006). Genetic Linkage and Association Analysis for Loneliness in Dutch Twin and Sibling Pairs Points to a Region on Chromosome 12q23-24. Behavior Genetics, 36, 137-146. doi: 10.1007/s10519-005-9005-z
Social Control (Schulz, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1976) • • • Study of college students visiting seniors over a 2-month period Included a no-visit condition, a condition where the student decided on the visits, and a condition where the senior decided on the visits Loneliness declined in the condition where the senior controlled visits but not in the other two conditions
AARP Study http://www.aarp.org/personal-growth/transitions/info-09 2010/loneliness_2010.html
• • • • Many of today’s slides are based on a 2010 ARRP Survey The study sought a nationally represent ative sample of adults 45 + years old 3012 individuals participated Measure: UCLA Scale
DEMOGRAPHIC CORRELATES OF LONELINESS
AARP Survey: Loneliness as a Function of Age
Loneliness Across the Lifespan: Adolescent High Point
Gender Differences: Mixed Results
AARP Study
• • • •
Meta-Analysis
Results Measure Specific Women higher in self labeling Women higher on UCLA No Difference on Dutch Measure
Loneliness by Income
LONELINESS BY MID AND LATER LIFE EVENTS AND TRANSITIONS
Loneliness and Midlife Transitions
•
Departure of children
•
Divorce
Retirement
Retirement
Contact with Coworkers After Retiring
Loneliness and Bereavement
• Loneliness: A key aspect of bereavement • What widows lose (Lopata) • Correlates of loneliness in widowhood: • Unexpected death • Rumination about negative consequences of death • Negative view of spouse
SOCIAL CORRELATES OF LONELINESS
Loneliness by Marital Status
Loneliness by Length of Current Marriage
Loneliness by Duration of Divorce
Loneliness by Time Spent on Hobbies per Week
Community Involvement and Loneliness
Volunteer Work Participate Community Org’s
Loneliness and Contact with Friends per Month
In Person (~ Phone) Email
Loneliness and Contact with Children per Month
In Person Phone
Loneliness and Perceived Social Support: How many people have been very supportive of you in the last year?
Loneliness by Length of Current Residence
Loneliness by Length of Current Residence
HEALTH CORRELATES OF LONELINESS
Loneliness and Self-Reported Health
Loneliness and Nursing Homes (Russell et al., Psychology and Aging, 1997) • 4-year prospective study: Higher levels of loneliness were found to increase the likelihood of nursing home admission
Prospective Longitudinal Study Perissinotto et al., 2012. Archives of Internal Medicine
Community sample, nationally representative, followed 2002 -2008, N = 1604, Age = 60+ Decline in ADL Difficulties with Upper Extremity Tasks Decline in Mobility Trouble with Stairs Death
Lonely
24.8
41.5
38.1
40.8
22.8
Not Lonely
12.5
28.3
29.4
27.9
14.2
Loneliness and Mortality • • • • • • • Perissinotto, C, Stijacic Cenzer, I, Covinsky, KE. Loneliness in older persons: A predictor of functional decline and death. Archives of Internal Medicine 2012; 172(14): 1078-1084. PMID: 22710744 Penninx , B.W.J.H. , van Tilburg , T.G., Kriegsman Journal of Epidemiology 146 (6), 510-519. , D.M.W. , Deeg , D.J.H. , Boeke , A.J.P. & van Eijk , J.T.M. (1997). Effects of social support and personal coping resources on mortality in older age: The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. American Beekman, A. T. F.; Deeg, D. J. H.; Stek, M. L.; van Tilburg, T. G. (2012). Increased risk of mortality associated with social isolation in older men: only when feeling lonely? Results from the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly (AMSTEL). Psychological Medicine, 42(4):843-853 Tilvis, R. S.; Routasalo, P.; Karppinen, H.; et al. (2012). e: Social isolation, social activity and loneliness as survival indicators in old age; a nationwide survey with a 7-year follow-up . European Geriatric Medicine, 3(1), 18-22 DOI: 10.1016/j.eurger.2011.08.004
Shiovitz-Ezra, S., & Ayalon, L. (2010). Situational versus chronic loneliness as risk factors for all-cause mortality . International Psychogeriatrics, 22(3), 455-462 DOI: 10.1017/S1041610209991426 Luo, Y., Hawkley, L. C., Waite, L. J., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2012). Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: A national longitudinal study. Social Science & Medicine, 74(6), 907-914. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.11.028
Sugisawa H, Liang J, & Liu X. (1994). Social networks, social support, and mortality among older people in Japan. Journal of Gerontology, 49, S3–13.
Question • From a lifespan, developmental perspective, how can we prevent or help alleviate loneliness?