Ruan YX, Cheung MC. Systematic review of factors influencing loneliness in older-adult migrants.
Aging Ment Health 2024;
28:1129-1141. [PMID:
38613512 DOI:
10.1080/13607863.2024.2340736]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Older-adult migrants constitute a proportion of the global population, and loneliness hinders their adaptation to host areas. However, review studies on risk factors for loneliness target general older-adults without focusing on older-adult migrants. Therefore, this study systematically reviews and synthesizes the factors influencing the loneliness of older-adult migrants.
METHOD
Five databases were searched and screened for quantitative studies investigating the relationship between risk factors and loneliness among older-adult migrants (over age 50). Finally, 35 articles were included.
RESULTS
Factors related to loneliness in older-adult migrants were synthesized into sociodemographic, physical health, psychological, interpersonal, and acculturation-related factors. Consistent significant relationships with loneliness were found for a few risk factors, including not having spouses, low subjective financial status, poor self-rated health, poor psychological status, few non-kin ties, low quality of kin and non-kin ties, and a weak sense of belonging to either one's ethnic group or that of the host areas.
CONCLUSION
This review discusses the unique findings on the risk factors for loneliness in older-adult migrants. Additionally, the current literature on loneliness in older-adult migrants has some research gaps, calling for longitudinal studies with a rigorous design.
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