Understanding Social and Emotional Loneliness among Black Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Black older adults’ (BOAs) experience of loneliness differs from other ethnic groups because of the disproportionate disadvantages faced across their life course. This scoping review aimed to describe the range of research on loneliness or subjective social isolation among BOAs, identifying the contributing factors to loneliness in this population, based on Weiss’ Social provision Framework. Of the 15,345 initial retrieved citations from seven databases and corporate websites, we included 27 studies conducted in the USA, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Uganda. Studies reporting on BOAs’ experience of loneliness focused on the influence of attachment, social integration, opportunity for nurturance, reassurance of worth, guidance, socio-economic factors, health-related factors and behaviors, and technology, media device possession and usage. There is a need for future studies to identify which social provisions (when targeted) could reduce loneliness, allowing clinicians to develop relevant interventions.

“You’re Not Understood, and You’re Isolated”: A Narrative Account of Loneliness by Black Older Adults in Ontario, Canada

“…First, tying our findings back to the three-dimensions space narrative inquiry (Clandinin, 2016), our findings show that experiences of loneliness among BOAs are generally fluid, heterogeneous, and shaped by diverse constellating factors, resonating with previous research in this area of study (Ojembe et al, 2022). Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that the experience of loneliness among BOAs differs across time, place, and the situational context of the individuals, such as relationships and social interaction.…”

“…Similarly, specific studies focusing on loneliness among ethnic minoritized older adults have pointed to several personal and social factors; for example, country of birth (de Jong Gierveld et al, 2015) and reduced neighbourhood social cohesion (Taylor, 2019), as significant risk factors for loneliness. Although some of these findings resonate with the studies that have been conducted among some ethnic minoritized groups in Canada (Alvi & Zaidi, 2017;de Jong Gierveld et al, 2015;Garcia Diaz, Savundranayagam, Kloseck, & Fitzsimmons, 2019), little is known about the constellating factors for loneliness, specifically among native-born and immigrant Black older adults (BOAs) in Canada, and how they navigate their experience (Ojembe et al, 2022). Here, we intend to address this gap.…”

“Ọmụgwọ” As Unpaid Labor? The Perceptions of Postpartum Caregiving Among Older Grandmothers in Southeast Nigeria

“…Findings support this argument by reporting that older grandmothers who travel for Ọmụgwọ in cities or other countries feel less lonely as they are closer to their children and grandchildren, and Ọmụgwọ is enjoyable and relished. Other studies have also reported the interconnection between loneliness and proximity to children and grandchildren ( Iwuagwu & Kalu, 2021 ; Ojembe & Kalu, 2018 ; Ojembe et al, 2021 , 2022 ).…”

Changes in Loneliness, BDNF, and Biological Aging Predict Trajectories in a Blood-Based Epigenetic Measure of Cortical Aging: A Study of Older Black Americans

“…Recent studies suggest that loneliness is more common among African Americans than white non-Hispanics [ 23 , 24 ]. In large measure, this may be a consequence of racial discrimination and social isolation experienced when interacting in White spaces [ 25 ].…”