When does adult loneliness hit them the hardest?
Researchers published their findings in the journal Psychological Science on April 30. A recent review lays it out, showing that people experience greater loneliness in their early adult years, lessen it as they get closer to middle age, and then experience loneliness once more in their later years.
According to researcher Eileen Graham, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, “what was striking was how consistent the uptick in it is in older adulthood.”
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Loneliness
“We wanted to better understand who is lonely and why people are growing lonelier as they age out of midlife, so we can hopefully start finding ways to mitigate it,” Graham said. “There is a wealth of evidence that loneliness is related to poorer health.”
Researchers published their findings in the journal Psychological Science on April 30. A recent review lays it out, showing that people experience greater loneliness in their early adult years, lessen it as they get closer to middle age, and then experience loneliness once more in their later years.
According to researcher Eileen Graham, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, “what was striking was how consistent the uptick in loneliness is in older adulthood.”
“We wanted to better understand who is lonely and why people are growing lonelier as they age out of midlife, so we can hopefully start finding ways to mitigate it,” Graham said. “There is a wealth of evidence that loneliness is related to poorer health.”
The researchers noted that since the pandemic occurred before all of the investigations were carried out, loneliness has become much more apparent.
According to Graham, the decline in loneliness during middle age may be due to the numerous responsibilities placed on people at that stage of life, such as marriage, parenthood, and employment.
Graham pointed out that social interaction by itself isn’t a sign of reduced loneliness.
Graham stated in a Northwestern news release that “you can have a lot of social interaction and still be lonely or, alternatively, be relatively isolated and not feel lonely.”
The data from the studies begin around the close of adolescence, when young adults are adjusting to a lot of significant life changes, according to researcher Tomiko Yoneda, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis.
These include completing their schooling, starting their employment, and adjusting their relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners on a constant basis.
According to Yoneda, “people start to set down roots and become established, solidifying adult friend groups, social networks, and life partners as they age and develop through young adulthood into midlife.” “Finding consistent points of meaningful social contact will likely help mitigate the risk of persistent loneliness for older adults who are not married, as we do have evidence that married people tend to be less lonely.”
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