Loneliness of marginalized

Rokach, Ami

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-815618-6.00008-4

Cited by 5 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 168 publications

(29 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…b. sampled adolescents and/or young adults aged 11-30 with a depressive disorder. We chose the age range 11-30 to cover WHO definitions of adolescents (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), youth (aged 15-24 years), teenagers (aged 15-19 years), and young adults (aged 20-24 years), with a wider margin at the upper limit. c. explored how young people with depression experience loneliness, both in relation to a current depressive episode and/or in reflecting back on past episodes d. included participants with self-reported depression or depression diagnosed by a health professional, regardless of severity of depression or treatment received.…”

Section: Selection: Inclusion and Exclusion Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the majority of epidemiological work on the health impacts of loneliness have been conducted in older age groups (7-9, 13, 14). Extrapolating the findings of studies in older age groups to younger people is problematic given that experiences of loneliness vary in different demographic and cultural groups (15). The social context of loneliness is also very different in young people, with experiences of this varying with different stages of life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

Achterbergh

Pitman

Birken

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Young people have a higher prevalence of loneliness than other age groups, and they are also at risk of depression. Quantitative studies describe a bidirectional association between loneliness and depression, but there is limited understanding of how these influence each other. Little is known about the experience of loneliness among young people with depression, but qualitative approaches help understand the relationship between loneliness and depression, and how to intervene to improve outcomes. We aimed to conduct a meta-synthesis to understand the complex inter-relationship between loneliness and depression among young depressed people by synthesising evidence from a systematic review of qualitative studies.Methods: We conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies capturing experiences of loneliness among young people with depression. We systematically searched six electronic databases for selected search terms, critically appraised eligible studies, and analysed the data from included studies using the approach of thematic synthesis. We used feedback from an inter-disciplinary research workshop to improve reflexivity. Results: Our inclusion criteria identified fourteen studies. Our analysis identified four themes: (1) social withdrawal due to poor mental health, (2) non-disclosure of depression contributing to social distance, (3) the desire to connect, and (4) paradoxes of loneliness and depression. These illustrated a range of pathways between depression and loneliness, and a sense of how these might be mutually reinforcing. Our findings suggest that where depressed individuals engage in certain behaviours (withdrawing; not confiding) for a range of reasons, this can lead to feelings of loneliness, an awareness of which worsens their mood, thus perpetuating their depression. Conclusions: Young people with depression experience loneliness as an insurmountable distance between themselves and others. Our findings identified non-disclosure of depression, and the debilitating nature of the depressive symptomatology, as factors perpetuating a vicious cycle of loneliness and depression. They suggest that approaches to tackling the problem might include helping young people communicate about their depression to trusted friends, and educating their social networks in how to support them. The wider research literature suggests that cognitive interventions may have a role in shifting maladaptive cognitions about their social world.

show abstract

Section: Selection: Inclusion and Exclusion Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

Achterbergh

Pitman

Birken

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the majority of epidemiological work on the health impacts of loneliness have been conducted in older age groups [ 7 – 9 , 13 , 14 ]. Extrapolating the findings of studies in older age groups to younger people is problematic given that experiences of loneliness vary in different demographic and cultural groups [ 15 ]. The social context of loneliness is also very different in young people to later stages of life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

Achterbergh

Pitman

Birken³

et al. 2020

BMC Psychiatry

145

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Young people have a higher prevalence of loneliness than other age groups, and they are also at risk of depression. Quantitative studies describe a bidirectional association between loneliness and depression, but there is limited understanding of how these influence each other. Little is known about the experience of loneliness among young people with depression. Qualitative approaches may help understand the relationship between loneliness and depression among young people, and how to intervene to improve outcomes. We aimed to conduct a meta-synthesis to understand the complex interrelationship between loneliness and depression among young depressed people by synthesising evidence from a systematic review of qualitative studies. Methods: We conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies capturing experiences of loneliness among young people with depression. We systematically searched six electronic databases for selected search terms, critically appraised eligible studies, and analysed the data from included studies using the approach of thematic synthesis. We used feedback from an inter-disciplinary research workshop to improve reflexivity. Results: Our inclusion criteria identified fourteen studies. Our analysis identified four themes: (1) social withdrawal due to poor mental health, (2) non-disclosure of depression contributing to social distance, (3) the desire to connect, and (4) paradoxes of loneliness and depression. These themes illustrated a range of pathways between depression and loneliness, and a sense of how these might be mutually reinforcing. Our findings suggest that where depressed individuals engage in certain behaviours (withdrawing; not confiding) for a range of reasons, this can lead to feelings of loneliness, an awareness of which worsens their mood, thus perpetuating their depression. Conclusions: Young people with depression experience loneliness as an insurmountable distance between themselves and others. Our findings identified non-disclosure of depression, and the debilitating nature of the depressive symptomatology, as factors perpetuating a vicious cycle of loneliness and depression. They suggest that approaches to tackling the problem might include helping young people communicate about their depression to trusted friends and educating their social networks in how to support them. The wider research literature suggests that cognitive interventions may have a role in shifting maladaptive cognitions about their social world.

show abstract

“…Conversely, it has been illustrated that disability, mental/physical illness and chronic conditions – or the associated ableism – can also lead to experiences of loneliness (e.g. Charmaz, 1983; Elias, [1985] 2001; Rosedale, 2009; De Bie, 2019). There is a lack of understanding, however, of the ways in which medicalisation, medical management and the contestation of a diagnostic status can themselves play a central role in producing loneliness.…”

Section: Mistreatment Of Sex Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The harms of medicalisation: intersex, loneliness and abandonment

Jones

2022

Feminist Theory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article develops loneliness as a political and social justice issue by illustrating the harmful personal and social consequences of the medical jurisdiction over and constitution of variations in sex characteristics. Whilst connections between loneliness, health and illness have been well established, this work customarily identifies the ways illness can lead to, or be caused by, loneliness. Instead, I provide an account of the central role of medicalisation and medical management in producing loneliness. By doing so, I underline the imperative for medical practice to consider its influence upon social and personal, as well as physical, wellbeing. Drawing on stories shared through solicited diaries followed by in-depth interviews with seven people with sex variations and two parents in the UK, I show how accounts of loneliness help to illuminate the violence of abandonment, silencing and marginalisation that often goes unheard, together with hidden or normalised systems of harm. Building on concepts of ethical loneliness and ontological loneliness, I show how structural violations operate to injure trust and self-worth, leading to social unease. I argue for the importance of people with sex variations finding sites of comfort and acceptance, but note the ways that some forms of medicalisation can inhibit alliances and community formation, despite diagnoses also carrying the potential to facilitate informal support structures and collective identities. By bringing together intersex studies with discourses of loneliness, I develop a better understanding of loneliness as a product of social and systemic violence, and the ways in which medical discourses tie in with larger structures of oppression, coercion and control. This article concludes by underlining the need for structural change in our approach to and understanding of sex variations, and with a call for us to become more attentive to these stories of medical harm, to ensure that they are heard and to seek necessary justice.

show abstract

Loneliness of marginalized

Cited by 5 publications

References 168 publications

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

The harms of medicalisation: intersex, loneliness and abandonment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About