Abstract
ObjectivesThis research innovatively analyzed the marital transitions (i.e., divorce and widowhood) of older Taiwanese parents, their sleep problems and spousal specific characteristics (i.e., separate bedrooms for sleep and marital relationships) as well as their social and family connections, all of which were simultaneously reflected in emotional and social domains of loneliness.MethodsData are from 1645 older parents from Northern Taiwan. Loneliness was assessed by a De Jong-Gierveld short scale with emotional and social domains. We conducted multivariate logistic regression to examine the associations of marital transitions and family/social connections regarding sleep problems and psychological well-being with loneliness in social and emotional domains. Besides sleep problems and individual socioeconomic status, we included data on couples’ sleeping arrangements and marital relationships.ResultsSocial loneliness was significantly associated with being divorced (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.13–2.86) and living alone (AOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.02–2.23). In contrast, strong family cohesion and frequent weekly contact with friends were associated with lower social loneliness. Married parents who slept in separate bedrooms were more likely than bed-sharing couples to feel emotional and social loneliness, despite adjusting for their sleep problems. Furthermore, satisfactory spousal relationships significantly decreased the magnitude of associations in the social domain.DiscussionOur findings support significant associations between loneliness in later life and major marital transitions, family and social connections and sleep problems which differ in social and emotional domains. Independent of relationship satisfaction, separate bedrooms relate to higher risks of emotional loneliness in older adults.
Highlights
Built upon the psychosocial approach [23], the present study explores whether loneliness is associated with major marital transitions, namely divorce and widowhood, and sleep problems
The results support the relationship between family/social connections and loneliness [17, 18, 20] by showing a significant association between marital transitions, namely divorce and widowhood, and loneliness among older parents and this relationship persisted, even after considering psychological well-being
The results are consistent with the hypothesis that there is a significant association between sleep problems and loneliness [4]
Summary
Research on loneliness in later life, has often focused on characteristics of individuals and families Social status variables such as gender, education, work status and family connection predict individual loneliness through their inherent social qualities. The experiences of marital transitions such as divorce and widowhood [16] appear crucial to psychological well-being, and to feelings of loneliness in later life [17,18,19]. Such marital transitions alter older adults’ perceptions of loneliness as some of their previous social connections become detached, causing isolation from original networks and/or changes in their feelings of loneliness [20]
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