Feelings of loneliness among adults with mental disorder

Abstract

Loneliness can affect people at any time and for some it can be an overwhelming feeling leading to negative thoughts and feelings. The current study, based on the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in England, 2007, quantified the association of loneliness with a range of specific mental disorders and tested whether the relationship was influenced by formal and informal social participation and perceived social support.Methods Using a random probability sample design,7,461 adults were interviewed in a cross-sectional national survey in England in 2007. Common Mental Disorders were assessed using the revised Clinical Interview Schedule;the diagnosis of psychosis was based on the administration of the Schedules of the Clinical Assessment of Neuropsychiatry, while loneliness was derived from an item in the Social Functioning Questionnaire.Results Feelings of loneliness were more prevalent in women (OR = 1.34, 95 % CI 1.20–1.50, P\0.001) as well as in those who were single (OR = 2.24, 95 % C I1.96–2.55, P<0.001), widowed, divorced or separated(OR = 2.78, 95 % CI 2.38–3.23, P<0.001), economically inactive (OR = 1.24, 95 % CI 1.11–1.44,P = 0.007), living in rented accommodation (OR = 1.73,95 % CI 1.53–1.95, P<0.001) or in debt (OR = 2.47,95 % CI 2.07–1.50, P<0.001). Loneliness was associated with all mental disorders, especially depression [corrected].

Loneliness in Psychosis: A Meta-analytical Review

“…This finding is in line with growing evidence that loneliness is a common feature in psychosis 15,37 and should be considered in further conceptualisations of psychotic disorders and treatment planning.…”

“…Loneliness has also been related to an increased tendency to experience subclinical and clinical hallucinations 15,16 and to nonclinical paranoid thinking 17,18 .…”

“…While there is a consensus that loneliness is a prominent feature in psychosis, some researchers report correlations near zero between psychotic symptoms and loneliness 22 . Additionally, while some authors report a high prevalence of loneliness in people with psychosis 15 , this conclusion is often derived from a single-item measure of loneliness, rather than a valid and reliable instrument, which might lead to confusion and limited replicability of studies. There also appears to be no gold standard in regards to how single-item measures are conceptualised and interpreted, with various authors asking for feelings of loneliness across the past week, past 2 weeks or past 12 months, or taking a measure of the number of 'lonely days in a week'.…”

The prevalence of loneliness and its determinants among geriatric population in Bengaluru City, Karnataka, India

“…5 Loneliness is associated with all the mental problems especially depression (OR=10.8), phobia (OR=11.6) and OCD (OR=9.7). 6 A study reveals that there is a positive correlation between depression and loneliness which means there is an increase in the level of depression with an increase in loneliness among elderly. A few studies have reported that prevalence of loneliness is higher among the elderly suffering from illnesses such as diabetes, auto immune disorders (Rheumatoid Arthritis, lupus) cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, hypertension) obesity, cancer and poor hearing.…”

Psychological interventions for housebound people with psychosis: service user and therapist perspectives in South East London

“…Unless psychological factors are the sole contributors to houseboundness, our findings suggest that therapy should be delivered in a multidisciplinary context, alongside interventions to address physical symptoms where these contribute to houseboundness (Nour, Laforest, Gauvin & Gignac, 2006) and social needs, where these are the primary concern (Meltzer et al, 2013, Jackson et al, 2008 Through assessment, stepped targeted care, utilising social or peer support or 'low intensity' interventions, like graded exposure, could be of particular value in alleviating distress and helping people to access the base for further therapy. Training frontline and support staff in these interventions, building on the learning from PSI implementation programmes, may offer a cost-effective means to improve access to therapy for this population.…”