Abstract
AbstractThe links between loneliness and overall morbidity and mortality are well known, and this has profound implications for quality of life and health and welfare budgets. Most studies have been cross-sectional allowing for conclusions on correlates of loneliness, but more recently, some longitudinal studies have revealed also micro-level predictors of loneliness. Since the majority of studies focused on one country, conclusions on macro-level drivers of loneliness are scarce. This chapter examines the impact of micro- and macro-level drivers of loneliness and loneliness change in 11 European countries. The chapter draws on longitudinal data from 2013 and 2015 from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), combined with macro-level data from additional sources. The multivariable analysis revealed the persistence of loneliness over time, which is a challenge for service providers and policy makers. Based on this cross-national and longitudinal study we observed that micro-level drivers known from previous research (such as gender, health and partnership status, frequency of contact with children), and changes therein had more impact on loneliness and change therein than macro-level drivers such as risk of poverty, risk of social deprivation, level of safety in the neighbourhood.
Highlights
8.1.1 Background and Aim of the ChapterThe main focus of this chapter is on exclusion from social relations, and loneliness as an important outcome of this exclusion
Since the individual data is nested within the countries, we considered a multilevel regression model to estimate the associations between the micro- and macro-level variables
Micro- and macro-level factors were analysed over two waves, 2 years apart, providing a dynamic measure of change
Summary
8.1.1 Background and Aim of the Chapter. The main focus of this chapter is on exclusion from social relations, and loneliness as an important outcome of this exclusion. Exclusion from social relations is sometimes equated with loneliness, this is not the same. People can feel lonely in a crowd, while at the same time people who are socially excluded are not necessarily lonely (Weiss 1973). [and as outlined in Burholt and Aartsen this section], loneliness is recognised as a critical outcome of exclusionary. Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden. C. Waldegrave Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit, Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand
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