Emotional and Social Isolation Among Elderly Canadian Seasonal Migrants in Florida

Loneliness is a problem for many elderly people in different socities. Understanding the condition of loneliness in the elderly has been impeded by its hidden nature and lack of conceptual clarity. A useful conceptual framework is to view loneliness as a result of two states-social isolation and emotional isolation. It is suggested that a four-fold typology examining the interface between social and emotional isolation could assist in identifying the nature of loneliness. Those falling within the four cells of the typology are viewed in terms of the need for social and psychological interventions. A study was conducted through surveys of 2,731 elderly Canadian seasonal migrants in Flordia. Frequency distributions revealed that 21.5% of the respondents reported feeling sometimes or often lonely. Further empirical analysis of the typology using crosstabular analysis indicated a relationship between emotional isolation and numbers of friends and emotional isolation; however, no significant relationship was found between number of children and emtional isolation. It is clear from these findings and others that the relationship between emotional and social isolation is complex, and that further examination of this relationship is indicated in order to focus social and psychological interventions toward the alleviation of loneliness experienced by elderly persons.