The Lived Experience of Already-Lonely Older Adults During COVID-19

Abstract

Background and Objectives From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts warned that older populations, due to their age, chronic illnesses, and lack of technological facility, would suffer disproportionately from loneliness as they sheltered in place indefinitely. Several studies have recently been published on the impact of COVID-19-related loneliness among older populations, but little has been written about the experiences of already-lonely older individuals; those that had lived with persistent loneliness before the advent of COVID-19. This qualitative study sought to understand how already lonely older individuals navigated and endured the social isolation of the pandemic. Research Design and Methods Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals aged 65 or older who scored a 6 or above on the three-item UCLA Loneliness Risk screening tool. Interviews were coded using the constant comparative method. Themes and understandings of loneliness that reoccurred within and across interviews were identified and collected. Results Already-isolated, older interviewees did not necessarily experience the abject loneliness hypothesized by analysts. Most interviewees used long-standing arrangements, in place to mitigate loneliness and endure social isolation, to manage the social deprivation of COVID-19. As a result, their loneliness did not compound during long bouts of mandated social isolation. To the contrary, loneliness during the pandemic appeared to carry a new valence for interviewees, as COVID-19 imbued their isolation with new meaning, rendering their loneliness necessary and responsible. Discussion and Implications Exploring individuals’ subjective perceptions of loneliness can help provide a deeper understanding of what it means to be isolated and alone during COVID-19, and aid in designing strategies to mitigate loneliness.

Loneliness Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Unpartnered and Childless Older Adults at Higher Risk?

“…Socalled "kinless" older adults (unpartnered childless) were not necessarily at higher risk of loneliness during the pandemic than each group separately. This finding may reflect and support qualitatively the resilience of "already lonely" older adults (Bundy et al, 2021) such that "kinless" older adults potentially have long-standing resources and preparations (psychological, emotional, and instrumental) to cope with limited social resources and thus manage loneliness due to the absence of these traditional family resources. Additionally, "kinless" and childless older adults, whose networks are more friend-based (Mair, 2019), may have reduced their expectations for in-person social contacts thereby reducing their discrepancy in desired versus actual interactions and subsequent likelihood of becoming lonely during the pandemic (Dahlberg, 2021).…”

“…For example, Choi et al (2021) found that US older adults who limited social interactions during the early stages of the pandemic (April to May 2020) were at higher risk for loneliness, but Luchetti et al (2020) found no sustained increase of loneliness among older Americans (Luchetti et al, 2020). A qualitative US study found that older people who had lived with persistent loneliness before the pandemic did not report feeling lonelier than before COVID-19 (Bundy et al, 2021). Killgore et al (2020) and Sutton et al (2020) debated, via letters to the editor, the conflicting findings in online samples regarding American older adults' experienced loneliness increases during COVID-19.…”

“…This trend may have been particularly problematic for older adults with fewer family ties-such as unpartnered or childless older adults. Although there is a recent explosion of studies examining loneliness during COVID-19, with several studies focused on older adults (e.g., Bundy et al, 2021;Choi et al, 2021;Macdonald & Hulur, 2021;van Tilburg et al 2021), no study to date has specifically examined the loneliness risk of unpartnered older adults and childless older adults during COVID-19.…”

Older Adult Mortality From COVID-19: Food Access as a Determinant Within a Socio-ecological Framework

“…All these variables were reported at the county-level and were selected based on the aforementioned comprehensive reviews and research reports ( Baltrus et al, 2021 ; Carter et al, 2014 ; Gundersen & Ziliak, 2018 ; Harris et al, 2014 ; Heid et al, 2021 ; Wu et al, 2020 ). That is, current research has found these socio-ecological factors explicate mortality for the coronavirus ( Bundy et al, 2021 ; Chiou and Tucker, 2020 ; Figueroa et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Russette et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Williamson et al, 2020 ; see Supplementary Material for additional clarification about variables).…”

“We’re protecting them to death”—A Heideggerian interpretation of loneliness among older adults in long-term care facilities during COVID-19

“…And it is important to make this qualification because, against expectations, several large-scale studies have shown that social isolation and stay-at-home orders did not necessarily result in an increase in loneliness for already-lonely older adults who were living independently, or if loneliness did increase, it did not adversely affect mental health as it did children and younger and middle-aged adults. (Bundy et al, 2021 ; Benke et al, 2020 ; Heidinger & Richter 2020 ; Kotwal et al, 2021 ; Lind et al, 2021 ) But this unexpected resilience among the elderly did not manifest for those restricted to nursing homes and other residential facilities. Confined in their rooms for months at a time, reports emerged of a distress that escalated dramatically, with residents becoming noticeably apathetic and listless, losing interest in eating and bathing, sleeping most of the day, and becoming indifferent to the idea of living altogether.…”