Age differences in demographic, social and health-related factors associated with loneliness across the adult life span (19–65 years): a cross-sectional study in the Netherlands

Abstract

Background: Recognition of loneliness as a health concern among adults stresses the need to understand the factors associated with loneliness. Research into factors of influence in the various phases of the adult life span (19-65 years) is scarce. Therefore, the associations between demographic, social and health-related factors and loneliness among young (19-34 years), early middle-aged (35-49 years) and late middle-aged adults (50-65 years) were explored. Methods: A secondary analysis with a large cross-sectional dataset was performed. Data was collected from September to December 2016 in the Netherlands, by a self-report survey. Loneliness was measured using the De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale. In total, 26,342 adults (19-65 years) participated (response rate: 34%). Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to examine associations between demographic, social and health-related factors as independent variables, and loneliness as dependent variable among the three age groups. Results: Prevalence of loneliness among young, early and late middle-aged adults was 39.7, 43.3 and 48.2%, respectively. Living alone, frequency of neighbour contact, perceived social exclusion, psychological distress, psychological and emotional wellbeing were consistently associated with loneliness across the groups. The association between ethnicity and loneliness was stronger among young and early middle-aged adults, compared to late middle-aged adults. Young adults showed the strongest association between contact frequency with friends and loneliness. The strength of association between financial imbalance and loneliness gradually decreased from young to late middle-aged adults. Educational level was associated with loneliness among young adults only, while an association between employment status and loneliness was found solely among early middle-aged adults. For late middle-aged adults only, perceived health was associated with loneliness. Frequency of family contact was associated with loneliness, only among early and late middle-aged adults.

Feelings of loneliness and mental health needs and services utilization among Chinese residents during the COVID-19 epidemic

“…Loneliness is “the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person’s network of social relations is deficient in some important way, either quantitatively or qualitatively” [ 48 ]. Accordingly, in non-pandemic era, commonly reported factors associated with loneliness are marital status of “unmarried”, living alone, social exclusion, less frequent contact with neighbors, and poor family and non-family relationships [ 22 , 49 , 50 ]. However, in the present study, epidemic-related factors such as having SARS-CoV-2-infected acquaintances were associated with loneliness.…”

Young Adults’ Experience of Loneliness in London’s Most Deprived Areas

“…A more recent study, which used data from the large, global BBC Loneliness Experiment, however, showed that loneliness was greater in men than women, particularly younger men living in individualistic cultures ( Barreto et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, the relationship between being ethnically different from the mainstream culture and loneliness has been explored and is strongest among young and early middle-aged adults (19–34 and 35–49 years old) compared to other age groups ( Franssen et al, 2020 ). In another study, young British adults (16–24 years old) who identified as black or an ethnic minority were more likely to report higher levels of loneliness than those who did not ( Office for National Statistics, 2018a ).…”

Individual, family, and community factors related to loneliness in mothers raising children less than 3 years of age: a cross-sectional study

“…It has been noted that loneliness and social isolation are related to each other but should be distinguished [ 11 , 12 ]. Both concepts may have independent effects on health and, therefore, should be regarded as individual factors, even though both have been associated with a decline in health status and quality of life [ 13 ].…”

“…Associations between loneliness, and individual factors (e.g., behavior) and community factors (e.g., attitude, relationship between community members) have not yet been explored among mothers with young children. Recent studies on loneliness in the general population have reported associations of loneliness with individual variables; health-related behavioral variables [ 3 , 22 , 23 ]; community variables, such as trust in community neighborhood [ 22 ], and frequency of neighbor contact among adults [ 11 ]; and social capital [ 24 ].…”