Loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic-are unpartnered and childless older adults at higher risk?

How loneliness increased among different age groups during COVID-19: a longitudinal analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic entailed restrictions that hampered face-to-face interactions and social gatherings. In this paper, we examine whether loneliness increased to different extents among age groups due to these restrictions, and if these differences were mediated by specific life course conditions. Based on longitudinal data from the Swiss Household Panel, our results show that loneliness increased disproportionately among younger individuals during the pandemic. This finding aligns with the social convoy model and the socioemotional selectivity theory, which postulate a decline of social network size over the life course. It also corresponds to findings indicating a decrease in contact frequency with increasing age. Individuals aged 30 years and above experienced a lower increase in loneliness when they lived in shared households; however, this protective effect was not observed for younger individuals. Living together with a partner, being male, and not anticipating health complications in case of a COVID-19 infection moderated the increases of loneliness, but they were independent of age.

Senior volunteers: addressing loneliness in times of COVID-19

Volunteering in old age plays an important role in addressing feelings of loneliness, but little research has been conducted on the impact of engaging in volunteering activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the longitudinal impact of volunteering on feelings of loneliness. We analyzed data from 31,667 adults aged 50 years and older in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), across three consecutive waves (one before the pandemic and two during the COVID-19 pandemic). Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted for loneliness, using volunteering and several control variables as independent variables, and found that even after controlling for previous loneliness, volunteering has a protective effect against experiencing feelings of loneliness. Those who participated in volunteering activities before or during the second pandemic period had a lower risk of loneliness during the second pandemic period. Volunteering during the second pandemic period, before and during the second pandemic period, and during all three periods measured in the study was negatively associated with the odds of feeling lonely. Encouraging volunteering among older adults can be a useful strategy to prevent loneliness during future emergency situations like the COVID-19 outbreak.

Risk factors for loneliness: A literature review

RATIONALE

Increasingly, loneliness is being recognised as a serious problem with detrimental effects on health, as well as on social cohesion and community trust. To effectively tackle this complex issue, a clear understanding of the phenomenon and its main drivers is needed. Over years of scientific research on loneliness, many potential risk factors have emerged and been tested empirically.

OBJECTIVE

This narrative review of 109 studies provides a concise summary of empirical evidence on the main potential risk factors for loneliness and presents an additional section dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

Given the very large number of existing studies, emphasis is placed on recent meta-analyses and systematic literature reviews as well as longitudinal studies. Similarly, given the large number of possible risk factors for loneliness, which may differ based on the geographical and cultural context, this review focuses on studies from Europe and North America.

RESULTS

The results show that demographic factors often correlate with loneliness, but in many cases the link becomes negligible when controlling for other factors. Often, physical and mental health problems are found to be associated with loneliness, and so are some psychological factors, such as neuroticism or extroversion. Loneliness also depends on the environment in which one lives, and possibly the broader socio-economic and socio-cultural contexts. Nevertheless, the review shows that ultimately everything comes down to the quantity and quality of social relationships. In particular, marital status, living arrangements and the characteristics of one's personal social network are quite consistently found to be among the strongest predictors of loneliness. These main findings about the risk factors for loneliness remained valid also during the COVID-19 pandemic.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

The findings of this review have implications for policy, as understanding who the most vulnerable groups are is key for designing targeted policy solutions that tackle loneliness.

Marital-history differences in increased loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A European study among older adults living alone

The COVID-19 pandemic and related physical distancing measures have disproportionally affected older adults living alone due to their greater social isolation. Unlike previous studies on the subject, the current research recognizes the diversity amongst older adults living alone by considering the impact of marital history. Combining information from Wave 8 of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement (SHARE), with data of SHARELIFE and the SHARE Corona survey, we investigated the differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness in older men (N = 1504) and women (N = 4822) living alone. Logistic multilevel analyses were performed on data from 26 European countries and Israel. For men, we found that the short-term widowed were more likely to report increased loneliness than the medium- and long-term widowed and those living apart together (LAT). For women, the results indicated that the short- and medium-term widowed and the divorced were at greater risk for increased loneliness than those in a LAT relationship. Also, medium-term widowed women were more likely to report increased loneliness than their long-term widowed counterparts. The three hypothesized underlying mechanisms - i.e., (i) the opportunity mechanism, (ii) the expectation mechanism, and (iii) the vulnerability mechanism - only played a small role in explaining the observed differences. In sum, our study highlights the importance of recognizing the diversity within the group of older adults living alone when investigating the effects of the pandemic on loneliness, yet the mechanisms behind the stratifying role of marital history are not fully understood.