loneliness in mid and later life
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Loneliness in Mid and Later life. Dan Perlman. Only the Lonely, Roy Orbison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjq4wYuwgxs. Today’s Talk. Introduction: Definition, Importance Peplau & Perlman Model Loneliness in Mid and Later Life Demographic Correlates Life Events & Transitions - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Loneliness in Mid and Later life
Dan Perlman
• Only the Lonely, Roy Orbison• http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kjq4wYuwgxs
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
DDefinitionefinitionLoneliness is the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person’s network of social relations is deficient in some important way, either quantitatively or qualitatively.
SSocial ocial PProblems roblems AAssociated ssociated WWith ith LLonelinessoneliness
• 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 Studyhttp://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 Loneliness and Midlife TransitionsTransitions
• Departure of children
• Divorce
Retirement
Retirement Contact with Coworkers After Retiring
Loneliness and BereavementLoneliness 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
• 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 StudyPerissinotto et al., 2012. Archives of Internal Medicine
Lonely Not Lonely
Decline in ADL 24.8 12.5
Difficulties with Upper Extremity Tasks
41.5 28.3
Decline in Mobility
38.1 29.4
Trouble with Stairs
40.8 27.9
Death 22.8 14.2
Community sample, nationally representative, followed 2002 -2008, N = 1604, Age = 60+
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, 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 Journal of Epidemiology 146 (6), 510-519.
• 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?