Predictors of loneliness and different types of social isolation of rural-living older adults in the United Kingdom

Koning, Jolanthe De; Stathi, Afroditi; Richards, Suzanne H

doi:10.1017/s0144686x16000696

Cited by 53 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Older people. Our findings echoed a lot of rural studies literature (De Koning et al, 2017;Kelly et al, 2019) which shows that "Loneliness is a huge problem" for older rural residents. As a result, "a lot of widows and widowers .…”

Section: A Rural Needs Frameworksupporting

confidence: 85%

Unequal futures of rural mobility: Challenges for a “Smart Countryside”

Bosworth

Price

Collison

et al. 2020

Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit

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Current transport strategy in the UK is strongly urban-focused, with assumptions that technological advances in mobility will simply trickle down into rural areas. This article challenges such a view and instead draws on rural development thinking aligned to a “Smart Countryside” which emphasises the need for place-based approaches. Survey and interview methods are employed to develop a framework of rural needs associated with older people, younger people and businesses. This framework is employed to assess a range of mobility innovations that could most effectively address these needs in different rural contexts. In presenting visions of future rural mobility, the article also identifies key infrastructure as well as institutional and financial changes that are required to facilitate the roll-out of new technologies across rural areas.

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Section: A Rural Needs Frameworksupporting

confidence: 85%

Unequal futures of rural mobility: Challenges for a “Smart Countryside”

Bosworth

Price

Collison

et al. 2020

Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit

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“…Using the same measure, Scharf and de Jong Gierveld reported a prevalence of loneliness of 13% for severe loneliness in 3 urban disadvantaged areas in Britain (London, Liverpool and Manchester) and 43% as moderately lonely for a sample of 497 participants aged 60-96 (mean age = 71.6) [17]. For rural areas in the UK, De Koning et al reported a prevalence of 9% for loneliness for those aged 65+ in 6 rural areas of England which approximates to the national norm [30] and is comparable to findings reported by Wenger and Burholt (2004) in a rural area of North Wales [31].…”

Section: Factors Related To Loneliness In Later Lifementioning

confidence: 97%

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

Victor¹,

Pikhartova

2019

Preprint

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Background: Loneliness in later life is largely presented as a problem of the individual focusing upon antecedents of loneliness such as demographic or health factors. Research examining the role of the broader living environments is rarer. We examined the relationship between loneliness and three elements of the lived environment: geographical region, deprivation, and area classification (urban or rural). Methods: Our sample consisted of 4,663 core members (44% males) aged 50+ (base wave mean age 65.5, S.D=.7.9) present in waves 3 (2008) and 7 (2014) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) which both included questions about individual-based and area-based loneliness. Loneliness was measured using two approaches- the three item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) scale (ranging from 3 =not lonely to 9= lonely and using cut off at level 6+ marking loneliness) which assessed individual-based (self-reported) loneliness, and a novel self-rated evaluation by participants of how often they felt lonely in their area of residence (area-based; ranging from 1=often to 7=never, using cut off 4+). The lived environment was classified in three different ways: the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Government Office Regions (GOR), and as urban or rural. Covariates with established relationship with loneliness including demographic factors, social engagement and health, were included in the analyses. Results: In wave 7, individual-based loneliness was reported by 18% and area-based loneliness by 25% of participants. There was limited congruence between measures: 68% participants reported no individual- or area-based loneliness and 9% reported loneliness in both areas. Adjusting for individual co-variates, a significant association was observed only for the association between area-based loneliness and deprivation measure area characteristic, with higher levels of loneliness in more deprived areas (OR=1.4 for highest quintile of deprivation). No other significant relationships were observed regarding other types of area characteristics. Conclusions: Our results indicate that loneliness in older adults is higher in the most deprived areas independent of individual-level factors. In order to develop appropriate interventions further research is required to investigate how area-level factors combine with individual-level loneliness vulnerability measures to generate increased levels of loneliness in deprived areas.

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“…Using the same measure, Scharf and de Jong Gierveld reported a prevalence of loneliness of 13% (severe) and 43% (moderate) for 497 participants aged 60-96 (mean age = 71.6) living in 3 urban disadvantaged areas in Britain (London, Liverpool and Manchester) [28]. De Koning et al reported a prevalence of 9% for loneliness for those aged 65+ in 6 rural areas of England [29]. This approximates to the national norm [5] and is comparable with findings reported by Wenger and Burholt (2004) in a rural area of North Wales [30].…”

Section: The Geography Of Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

Chapot

Pikhartova

2020

BMC Public Health

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Background: Loneliness in later life is largely presented as a problem of the individual focusing upon antecedents such as demographic or health factors. Research examining the role of the broader living environments is much rarer. We examined the relationship between loneliness and three dimensions of the lived environment: geographical region, deprivation, and area classification (urban or rural). Methods: Our sample consisted of 4663 core members (44% males) aged 50+ (wave 7 mean age 72.8, S.D. = 7.1) present both in waves 3 (2006) and 7 (2014) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Loneliness was measured using two approaches, individual and area-based, and both waves included these questions. Individualbased (self-reported) loneliness was assessed using the three item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) scale (ranging from 3 = not lonely to 9 = lonely) with a score of 6+ defining loneliness. We also used a novel question which asked participants to evaluate how often they felt lonely in their area of residence (area-based; ranging from 1 = often to 7 = never, using cut off 4+ to define loneliness). The lived environment was classified in three different ways: the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Government Office Regions (GOR), and area classification (urban or rural). Covariates with established relationship with loneliness including demographic factors, social engagement and health, were included in the analyses. Results: In wave 7, the prevalence of individual-based loneliness was 18% and area-based was 25%. There was limited congruence between measures: 68% participants reported no individual-or area-based loneliness and 9% reported loneliness for both measures. After adjusting for individual co-variates only one significant relationship was observed between loneliness and area-based characteristics. A significant association was observed between areabased loneliness and deprivation score, with higher levels of loneliness in more deprived areas (OR = 1.4 for highest quintile of deprivation). Conclusions: Our results indicate that loneliness in older adults is higher in the most deprived areas independent of individual-level factors. In order to develop appropriate interventions further research is required to investigate how area-level factors combine with individual-level loneliness vulnerability measures to generate increased levels of loneliness in deprived areas.

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Predictors of loneliness and different types of social isolation of rural-living older adults in the United Kingdom

Cited by 53 publications

References 69 publications

Unequal futures of rural mobility: Challenges for a “Smart Countryside”

Unequal futures of rural mobility: Challenges for a “Smart Countryside”

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

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