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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Loneliness in later life
— preliminary findings from the Growing Older project | | Author(s) | Christina Victor, Sasha Scambler, John Bond |
| Journal title | Quality in Ageing, vol 3, no 1, March 2002 |
| Pages | pp 34-41 |
| Keywords | Loneliness ; Isolation ; Social surveys ; Research Reviews. |
| Annotation | Loneliness is consistently presumed to be a specific "social problem" which accompanies old age and growing older. 90% of the general population in the UK feel that loneliness is particularly a problem associated with old age. Data concerning the prevalence of loneliness in the population aged 65+ are provided in a quantitative study of 999 people across Great Britain using a special module commissioned from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus Survey. The overall self-reported prevalence of loneliness shows little change in the post war period, and challenges the stereotype that the problem of loneliness and isolation has become more prevalent. Sociodemographic and health factors were associated with loneliness, but contact with family and friends was not. Both quantitative and qualitative data sets illustrate the importance of loss as a theme underpinning experience of loneliness. Further analysis of these data offers the potential to develop a better understanding of what loneliness really is, what it means to those who experience it may offer the potential to develop interventions and strategies to "protect" older people from the problem. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-020418212 A |
| Classmark | DV: TP: 3F: 3A:6KC |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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