Barriers to Social Participation among Lonely Older Adults: The Influence of Social Fears and Identity

Abstract

IntroductionLoneliness among older adults is a major public health problem that may be associated with processes of social participation and identity. This study therefore sought to examine the relationship between social participation and identity in a sample of lonely older adults living independently in London, England.MethodAn inductive qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, was employed.ResultsParticipants commonly spoke of barriers to social participation that have been reported elsewhere, including illness/disability, loss of contact with friends/relatives, lack of a supportive community, and lack of acceptable social opportunities. However, novel findings were also derived. In particular, participants commonly minimised the difficulties they faced alone, and described attempts to avoid social opportunities. These behaviours were linked to fears about engaging in social participation opportunities, including fears of social rejection and/or exploitation, and fears of losing valued aspects of identity.DiscussionIt is concluded that social participation amongst lonely older people will not improve through the removal of previously reported barriers alone; instead, older peoples’ beliefs, fears and identities must be addressed. Suggestions for implementing these findings within community organisations are provided.

The relationship between wealth and loneliness among older people across Europe: Is social participation protective?

“…Whilst participation in formal social activities may help prevent loneliness in later life, several barriers to social participation exist, including disability, a lack of supportive community environment and diminished financial resources (Goll et al, 2015). It is therefore plausible that social participation may widen or narrow socioeconomic inequalities in loneliness.…”

Social participation and perceived depression among elderly population in South Africa

“…Despite this widespread use, there remains a lack of universally agreed definition of social participation, and hence clarification is required for appropriate contextual application of the term. From the perspective of civil society organizations, social participation can indicate the involvement of the general public in health decision-making as an essential element of democratic decision-making process health care 2,3. On the other hand, from the social capital perspective it can refer to the interconnectivity and/or cohesiveness of the members in a given society in terms of interpersonal relationships 4,5.…”

Application of the behaviour change wheel framework to the development of interventions within the City4Age project

“…Attendance reminding them that they are aging [33] Education Capability, Physical Skills Inability to follow conversations/sensory deficits [34][35][36][37], poor health [38] Environmental restructuring Opportunity, Social Social influences Participation of friends/partner [39] Enablement Lack of local social support [37], unsupportive community/perceived lack of acceptance [40] Modelling Opportunity to contribute skills/knowledge [41] Enablement Opportunity, Physical…”

“…Lack of appealing activities/social opportunities [40,42,43], A choice of activities [41] Environmental restructuring Availability of private car [44] Traffic/poor driving conditions [45] Environmental restructuring Access to public transport [43,44,46], Cost of public transport [44] Environmental restructuring Lack of money [46] Environmental restructuring…”

“…Social/Professional Role and Identity Perception that activities are for much older people [33], not selfidentifying as "old" [40] Modelling Perception that activities/senior centres are gendered [47] Modelling Beliefs about capabilities Self-perceived health [48] Education Beliefs about consequences Perception that engagement and socialising will be beneficial/desirable [33,41,43] Persuasion Fear of social rejection [40] Education Desire to benefit from socialising [43] Persuasion Motivation, Automatic…”