Loneness in the Older Adult Population
Introduction
There has been a considerable amount of inquiry which has associated loneliness to depression, low self-esteem, and physical illness (Hawley & Cacioppo, 2007; Sorkin, Rook, & Lu, 2002). Loneliness can also be detrimental to health as well as overall well-being later in life due to recent evidence implying that it accelerates physiological deterioration and advancement of chronic diseases in the elderly (Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2007).
The main points the article seeks to evaluate is (1) if emotional loneliness and social loneliness in later life is multidimensional; (2) if positive and negative social exchanges are associated with either emotional loneliness or social loneliness; and (3) if social exchange relates to emotional loneliness and social loneliness as compared to formerly married older individuals.
Methods
The study population was from the Later Life Study of Social Exchanges which was a five-wave, 2 year longitudinal study being non-institutionalized with English-speaking older adults who resided in the United States. The sampling frame came from the Medicare Beneficiary Eligibility List of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services consisting of information on nearly all older adults in the United States. Interviews began in 2000; wave 1 data collected 916 sample of older adults ranging from 65 to 91 years of age (M=74.13, SD=6.63). Of the total participants, 62 percent represented females; 83 percent were Caucasian; 54 percent were married or in marriage-like relationship, 34 percent were widowed, and the rest were separated or divorced being 8 percent and 4 percent were never married. All study participants closely resembled the older American population bas...
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Russell (1978), (http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jedp/article/download/46795/25238) established the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness scale, which has been widely employed to this day, and performed a theoretical factor analysis for loneliness. His research and results attracted broad attention around the world. Loneliness can be studied by three approaches: the cognitive process approach, the human needs approach and the behavioral approach. The cognitive process approach emphasizes an individual’s mental awareness and assesses his or her social
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However, some variation and possible novelty surfaced in this period of the lifespan. According to (Clark, Ouellette, Powell, & Milberg, 1987), in late adulthood, social interactions are more about communal orientation. Meaning that in this stage, friendships are deeply about the welfare of friends, concerns for friend’s well-being, and support, which portrayed this stage mainly about high quality relations. In his research, Field (1999) reported that late adults’ deep care for friend’s well-being is understandable for the fact that, older adults are in the stage where health issues often emerge, therefore, a sense of vulnerability arised. However, normative life events that retained social interactions in middle adulthood decrease because they are most likely release from family restraint, workforce responsibility and past personal obligations (Field,
Several studies also asserted that loneliness is correlated with aging itself (Tijhuis et al, 1999; Victor et al, 2000) and that there was a gradual increase in loneliness up to the age of 90 (Holmen, 1992). This increasing trend can be attributed to interactions with other factors due to additive nature of risk factors for loneliness and social isolation (Victor et al, 2000).
Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction
Life event such as retirement could cause social isolation. Most elderly people are vulnerable and living in isolation. They are not physically active. They are lonely and they have minimal contact and access to things around them. Living in isolation can impact the lives of elderly, which can then lead to suicide. It is true that different types of diseases emerges during late adulthood, but I am not really knowledgeable about those diseases because it is not as rampant as it is in western world in comparison to Nigeria, my home
The first influential factor to the atrophy of social life that Eitzen writes about is moving away. Americans nowadays are always on the go – if moving is the most convenient idea, they will move with no regard to formed relationships that will soon be broken. People are often forced to move in order to follow a job or because of problems within the family. Constantly moving about causes a decline in intimate relationships. This is also true in people who live alone. The lack of regular and reliable social interaction can lead to a less sociable personality and less motivation to form real relationships. Real relationships are what lead to a healthy social life.
Atchley, R. C. (1997). Social forces and aging: An introduction to social gerontology (8th ed.).
Loneliness is a terrifying feeling that never escapes our lives. When I was younger, my largest fear in life was that I would make no friends and would be lonely. As I grew older, the fear shifted to dying alone. Now that I take steps back to look at this I realized everything I have missed, everything I have misunderstood. I am finally strong enough to understand that loneliness is inescapable, it lives with you all through your life. Life is a lonely place, where even if you are lucky enough to have people around you, all you have to look forward to is losing them either through going separate ways or death.
Marche provided research on the topic of loneliness, the research provided examples from John Cacioppo the director of Social Neuroscience at University of Chicago. In the research provided, it shows just how extreme loneliness is to human physiology. In this example which Marche found in Cacioppo’s research; “Cacioppo found higher levels of epinephrine, the stress hormone, in the morning urine of lonely people. Loneliness burrows deep: When we drew urine from our older adults and analyzed their white cells,” he writes, “we found that loneliness somehow penetrated the deepest recesses of the cell to alter the way genes were being expressed.” (Marche, 296) Marche researched more of Cacioppo’s work, he had found an experiment that had been conducted by Cacioppo which stated, “The greater the proportion of face-to-face interactions, the less lonely you are,” he says.
John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of Chicago, has been studying social isolation for 30 years. One frightening finding is that feelings of loneliness are linked to poor cognitive performance and quicker cognitive decline.” (Rosen 2014, University of Chicago) Another factor of loneliness among those sixty five or older? Apparently socially isolated seniors are more negative about their future years.
Loneliness creates an uncomfortable feeling in most people. The lack of a social presence seems to have a noticeable effect since it creates a personal void. This could explain why people turn to their phones when they have no one to talk to; they end up talking to people via text in order to fill up such a void. It is interesting to see how “nothing” can have such an effect on people. Fortunately, loneliness is a form of perceived isolation and is only temporary for most. However, for those who experience chronic isolation, a lack of connection with others can lead to detrimental effects. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” illustrates how being alone can lead to insanity. Part of being human is communicating with others. Thus, taking away something as simple as interaction can lead to a number of negative consequences, both physically and mentally.
While being social has many benefits to the health of a person, it can have a negative effect if there is any financial stress, increased burdens, or ailing family member or partner (Annear et al., 2012). Caring for others as an elderly person can have both negative and positive effects while providing companionship and a sense of purpose, it can also make the elderly carers life more stressful and can sometimes make the carer feel emotionally isolated (Annear et al., 2012). Joining social groups will get encourage participation and interaction with other members of their social group; this will help in minimising the potential for social isolation and detachment. Barriers to having an active social health are living in rural or remote areas, long distances to services and social networks. It is important for elderly people to feel they still have some form of connection with their friends and family and feel that are still connect to