A review of loneliness concepts, with particular reference to old age

Weeks, David J.

doi:10.1002/gps.930090502

Cited by 82 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Women abused in the past were noted to be more lonely and had more negative network orientation, compared to women, who were not abused. Further in whom abuse lasted for a longer duration period and involving multiple incidents were more loneliness and had lower network orientation [8,25,26]. In a study conducted by Dhal A et al, of 110 adolescents of Delhi (India) found that two third of children reported higher level of loneliness and one third of children reported lower level of loneliness.…”

Section: Child Abusementioning

confidence: 97%

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Relationship Between Loneliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physical Health ? A Review on the Psychological Aspects of Loneliness

Mushtaq

Shoib

Shah

et al. 2014

JCDR

370

291

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Section: Child Abusementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Loneliness is a common experience with 80% of population below 18 years of age and 40% of population above 65 years of age report loneliness at least sometimes in their life [2,[6][7][8]. Loneliness is generally reported more among adolescents and young children, contrary to the myth that it occurs more in elderly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship Between Loneliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physical Health ? A Review on the Psychological Aspects of Loneliness

Mushtaq

Shoib

Shah

et al. 2014

JCDR

370

291

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The literature on the treatment of loneliness indicates the effectiveness of training in social skills and cognitive restructuring and of providing situations that encourage the formation of friendship bonds (Blai, 1989;Brage et al, 1993;Seligson, 1983;Weeks, 1994). Because lonely individuals tend to have poor social skills (Chelune, Sultan, & Williams, 1980;Horowitz et al, 1982), teaching them to be more assertive (Blai, 1989), encouraging them to take social risks (a behavior that lonely individuals avoid; Moore & Schultz, 1983), and increasing their repertoire of appropriate interpersonal skills may prove useful in reducing their loneliness (Seligson, 1983;Weeks, 1994).…”

Section: Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because lonely individuals tend to have poor social skills (Chelune, Sultan, & Williams, 1980;Horowitz et al, 1982), teaching them to be more assertive (Blai, 1989), encouraging them to take social risks (a behavior that lonely individuals avoid; Moore & Schultz, 1983), and increasing their repertoire of appropriate interpersonal skills may prove useful in reducing their loneliness (Seligson, 1983;Weeks, 1994).…”

Section: Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loneliness, shyness, and depression: The etiology and interrelationships of everyday problems in living.

Dill

Anderson²

The Interactional Nature of Depression: Advances in Interpersonal Approaches.

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In addition to the emotional trauma and psychological suffering inflicted on the victims, these problems exact a heavy monetary toll on society. Like a pebble tossed into a pond, these problems have their most obvious effects at the point of entry, but the impact radiates outward in an ever-widening circle. Perhaps this simile is too optimistic: It implies that one can observe and predict relatively low-level effects as the modestsized waves dissipate at increasing distances from the initial point of impact. A coastal earthquake may provide a better analogy. The most obvious victims are those at the epicenter-the shy, the lonely, and the depressed. However, such traumatic events can lead to unexpected problems at quite some distance, just as the tsunami created by the earthquake can appear suddenly and unexpectedly thousands of miles away. For example, it is not simply the immediate family who suffer with the shy, lonely, and depressed; coworkers, friends, and acquaintances of the family may also be adversely affected. The health care costs, lost days at work, increased accident rates, and decreased productivity of the immediate victims and these "ripple effect" victims are all consequences of shyness, loneliness, and depression.Other hidden costs also accrue. For instance, there are theoretical and empirical reasons to suspect that these problems in living increase the likelihood of a variety of violent behaviors, ranging from child abuse to murder. For instance, Lee, Zimbardo, and Bertholf (1977) showed that convicted murderers who had no prior history of violence were unusually shy. Shyness, loneliness, and depression may all increase a variety of aggressive behaviors through at least three separate mechanisms (e.g., Anderson, Anderson, & Deuser, 1996; see also Berkowitz, 1993;Geen, 1990). First, the lack of satisfying interpersonal ties may contribute to a lower or less effective set of inhibitions against aggression. Second, the high level of negative affect characteristic of these problems in living may increase unwarranted aggression. Finally, these problems may prime aggressive thoughts, thus producing increases in aggression. THE ROLE OF MODERN SOCIETYNumerous characteristics of modern society contribute to shyness, loneliness, and depression. The high mobility in U.S. society makes it difficult to develop and maintain close interpersonal relationships, even within families. Similarly, the loss of intergenerational ties and the rise of single-parent families contribute to the social isolation that underlies many of the problems in living. These characteristics of modem U.

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Editorial Review. Attempted suicide in old age

Draper

1996

Int. J. Geriat. Psychiatry

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Studies of attempted suicide (parasuicide, deliberate self‐harm) in old age published between 1985 and 1994 are critically reviewed with reference to demography, suicide methods, stressors, psychiatric features and outcome. Despite methodological weaknesses, the studies consistently identified a number of factors long regarded as being associated with suicidal behaviour in old age. These include being unmarried, social isolation, impaired physical health, high suicidal intent and mental illness (particularly major depression). In contrast to earlier research, recent studies have found relationship problems to be a prominent factor. However, in the past decade there has been inadequate examination of psychosocial precipitants, motivations and psychopathology and the manner in which these factors interact. The possibilities of the psychological trait of hopelessness and the biological trait of low central serotonergic activity being linked with suicide attempts in the elderly require further research. Future studies should be prospective, longitudinal, use standardized measures, matched control groups and include evaluations of post‐suicide attempt interventions, hopelessness and central serotonergic activity.

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A review of loneliness concepts, with particular reference to old age

Cited by 82 publications

References 60 publications

Relationship Between Loneliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physical Health ? A Review on the Psychological Aspects of Loneliness

Relationship Between Loneliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physical Health ? A Review on the Psychological Aspects of Loneliness

Loneliness, shyness, and depression: The etiology and interrelationships of everyday problems in living.

Editorial Review. Attempted suicide in old age

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