A Stronger Safety Net and Less Income Inequality Reduces Loneliness in Midlife: Cross-National Evidence from the United States and Europe

Loneliness is a global public health issue. Empirical evidence documents that today’s middle-aged adults in the U.S. report elevated levels of loneliness compared to previous generations and peer nations in Europe. We examine whether nation-level policy factors could explain these differences in midlife loneliness between the U.S. and Europe. Applying multilevel models to harmonized longitudinal panel survey data from the U.S. and 13 European nations (N = 59,030, ages 45 to 65) revealed that middle-aged adults in nations with less investment in family benefits (as % of GDP) and more income inequality report higher levels of individual-level loneliness and exhibit steeper within-person increase in loneliness over time. Findings document that policy models pertaining to family benefits and income inequalities are associated with cross-national differences in midlife loneliness.