Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T00:32:56.431Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

European and Canadian Studies of Loneliness among Seniors*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Daniel Perlman
Daniel Perlman*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Daniel Perlman, School of Social Work and Family Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2. ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article provides a commentary on a set of five other articles reporting European and Canadian studies of loneliness among seniors. It places those works involving Canadian, Dutch, Finnish, and Welsh samples in the larger context of research on loneliness; offers reflections on the methods and findings reported in the articles; and addresses the question, Is loneliness universal? Points of similarity in the articles are identified and possible ways of reconciling discrepant findings regarding age trends and gender differences are put forward. A discrepancy model of loneliness is used as a key framework for explaining several points, including why objective social isolation and loneliness don't always go together.

Résumé

L'auteur apporte ses commentaires sur cinq articles décrivant des études sur la solitude chez les personnes âgées effectuées en Europe et au Canada. Il examine ces travaux (qui portent sur des échantillons canadiens, hollandais, finlandais et gallois) sous l'angle élargi de la recherche sur la solitude; il analyse les méthodes et conclusions présentées dans les articles et répond à la question : La solitude est-elle universelle? Il note les similitudes entre les divers articles et propose des façons de rapprocher les conclusions divergentes liées à l'âge et aux différences entre les sexes. Il utilise comme cadre de référence un modèle fondé sur le décalage (discrepancy model) pour expliquer plusieurs points, notamment pourquoi l'isolement social objectif et la solitude ne vont pas toujours de pair.

Keywords

aginglonelinesssocial isolationagegendercross-cultural differencesseniorsvieillissementsolitudeisolement socialâgesexedifférences transculturellespersonnes âgées
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 23 , Special Issue/Numéro special 2: Social Isolation and Loneliness/Isolement social et solitude , Summer/Été 2004 , pp. 181 - 188
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Revisions of this paper were made while the author was at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) and benefited from the reviewers' insightful, constructive comments and from expository suggestions made by Petronella Kievit-Tyson.

References

Anderson, C.A. (1999). Attributional style, depression, and loneliness: A cross-cultural comparison of American and Chinese students. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 482–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bazargan, M., & Barbre, A.R. (1992). Self-reported memory problems among the Black elderly. Educational Gerontology, 18, 71–82.Google Scholar
Borys, S., & Perlman, D. (1985). Gender differences in loneliness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 11, 63–76.Google Scholar
Cacioppo, J.T., Hawkley, L.C., Berntson, G.G., Ernst, J.M., Gibbs, R.S., & Hobson, J.A. (2002). Do lonely days invade the nights? Potential social modulation of sleep efficiency. Psychological Science, 13, 384–387.Google Scholar
Carstensen, L.L., Isaacowitz, D.M., Charles, S.T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165–181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Creecy, R., Berg, W., & Wright, R. (1985). Loneliness among the elderly: A causal approach. Journal of Gerontology, 40, 487–493.Google Scholar
Cutrona, C.E. (1982). Transition to college: Loneliness and the process of social adjustment. In Peplau, L.A. & Perlman, D. (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 291–309). New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J. (2001, July). Conceptual development, definitions and measurement of loneliness. In Havens, B. (Chair), Cross-national comparison of social isolation and loneliness. Symposium conducted at the 17th World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology, Vancouver, Canada.Google Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J., & Kamphuis, F. (1985). The development of a Rasch-type loneliness scale. Applied Psychological Measurement, 9, 289–299.Google Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J., & van Tilburg, T. (1995). Social relationships, integration, and loneliness. In Knipscheer, C.P.M., de Jong Gierveld, J., van Tilburg, T.G. & Dykstra, P.A. (Eds.), Living arrangements and social networks of older adults (pp. 155–172). Amsterdam: VU University Press.Google Scholar
Dykstra, P. (2000, November). Changes in older adult loneliness: Results from a seven-year longitudinal study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Dykstra, P.A., & de Jong Gierveld, J. (2004). Gender and marital-history differences in emotional and social loneliness among Dutch older adults. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 141–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ehrhorn, S., & Smith, J. (2001, June). Social relationships and loneliness in old age: The role of relationship quality. Poster presented at the meeting of the International Network on Personal Relationships, Prescott, AZ.Google Scholar
Ernst, J.M., & Cacioppo, J.T. (1999). Lonely hearts: Psychological perspectives on loneliness. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 8, 1–22.Google Scholar
Havens, B. (Chair). (2001, July). Cross-national comparison of social isolation and loneliness. Symposium conducted at the 17th World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology, Vancouver, Canada.Google Scholar
Havens, B., Hall, M., Sylvestre, G., & Jivan, T. (2004). Social isolation and loneliness: Differences between older rural and urban Manitobans. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 129–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, W. H., & Hebb, L. (2003). The experience of loneliness: Objective and subjective factors. International Scope Review, 5 (summer). Retrieved 24 February 2004 from http://www.internationalscope.com/journal/volume%202003/issue%209/pdf/2_jones.pdf.Google Scholar
Jylhä, M. (2004). Old age and loneliness: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in the Tampere Longitudinal Study on Aging. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 157–168.Google Scholar
Moustakas, C.E. (1972). Loneliness and love. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Olsen, R.B., Olsen, J., Gunner-Svensson, F., & Waldstrom, B. (1991). Social networks and longevity: A 14 year follow-up study among elderly in Denmark. Social Science and Medicine, 33, 1189–1195.Google Scholar
Peplau, L.A., Bikson, T.K., Rook, K.S., & Goodchilds, J. (1982). Being old and living alone. In Peplau, L.A. & Perlman, D. (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 327–347). New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
Peplau, L.A., & Perlman, D. (Eds.). (1982). Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy. New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
Perlman, D. (1991). Age differences in loneliness: A meta-analysis. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED326767)Google Scholar
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L.A. (1998). Loneliness. In Friedman, H. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of mental health (Vol. 2, pp. 571–581). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Perlman, D., & Russell, D. (2004). Loneliness and health: Mental and physical. In Anderson, N. (Editor-in-Chief), Encyclopedia of health and behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 585–589). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Pinquart, M., & Sorensen, S. (2001). Influences on loneliness in older adults: A meta-analysis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 23, 245–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotenberg, K.J., & Hymel, S. (Eds.). (1999). Loneliness in childhood and adolescence. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, D.W. (1996). The UCLA loneliness scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity and factorial structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66, 20–40.Google Scholar
Russell, D., & Cutrona, C.E. (1985, August). Loneliness and physical health among the rural elderly. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Russell, D.W., Cutrona, C.E., de la Mora, A., & Wallace, R.B. (1997). Loneliness and nursing home admissions among rural older adults. Psychology and Aging, 12, 574–589.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, D.W., Cutrona, C.E., & Hessling, R. (1998, August). Social contact and mortality among rural older adults: A structural equation modeling analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.Google Scholar
Russell, D., Peplau, L., & Ferguson, M. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 42, 290–294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwarzer, R., & Leppin, A. (1992). Possible impact of social ties and support on morbidity and mortality. In Veiel, H.O.F. & Bauman, U. (Eds.), The meaning and measurement of social support (pp. 65–83). New York: Hemisphere.Google Scholar
Sears, D.O. (1986). College sophomores in the laboratory: Influences of a narrow data base on social psychology's view of human nature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 515–530.Google Scholar
Shaver, P., Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Transition to college: Network changes, social skills, and loneliness. In Duck, S. & Perlman, D. (Eds.), Understanding personal relationships (pp. 193–219). London: Sage.Google Scholar
Sippola, L.K., & Bukowski, W.M. (1999). Self, other and loneliness from a developmental perspective. In Rotenberg, K.J. & Hymel, S. (Eds.), Loneliness in childhood and adolescence (pp. 280–295). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Stack, S. (1998). Marriage, family and loneliness: A cross-national study. Sociological Perspectives, 41, 415–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P. (1968). Isolation, desolation and loneliness. In Shanas, E., Townsend, P., Wedderburn, D., Friis, H., Milhoj, P., & Stehouwer, J. (Eds.), Old people in three industrial societies (pp. 258–287). New York: Atherton Press.Google Scholar
van Baarsen, B., Snijders, T.A.B., Smit, J.H., & van Duijn, M.A.J. (2001). Lonely but not alone: Emotional isolation and social isolation as two distinct dimensions of loneliness in older people. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 61, 119–135.Google Scholar
van Tilburg, T., Havens, B., & de Jong Gierveld, J. (2004). Loneliness among older adults in the Netherlands, Italy, and Canada: A multi faceted comparison. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 169–180.Google Scholar
Weiss, R.S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Wenger, G.C., & Burholt, V. (2004). Changes in levels of social isolation and loneliness among older people in a rural area: A twenty-year longitudinal study. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 115–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, L.A. (Ed.). (1978). Loneliness [Special issue]. Essence: Issues in the study of ageing, dying and death, 2(4).Google Scholar