Onset of loneliness in older adults: results of a 28 year prospective study

The goal of this research is to test whether often observed correlates of loneliness in older age are related to onset of loneliness longitudinally. Despite the increasing number of longitudinal studies, the investigation of factors that are related to onset of loneliness is still limited. Analyses are based on data of the TamELSA study, which is a population-based prospective study in Tampere, Finland and started in 1979. For the present study 469 older adults aged between 60 and 86 years at baseline, who were not lonely at baseline, were selected and followed-up in 1989, 1999 and 2006. During the 28 years of follow-up approximately one third (N = 178) of the study population developed feelings of loneliness. Logistic regression analyses indicated that losing a partner, reduced social activities, increased physical disabilities, increased feelings of low mood, uselessness and nervousness, rather than baseline characteristics, are related to enhanced feelings of loneliness at follow-up. The higher incidence of loneliness among women can be fully explained by the unequal distribution of risk factors among men and women (e.g., women more often become widowed). Our results are in line with the cognitive approach that conceptualizes loneliness as an unpleasant feeling due to a perceived discrepancy between the desired and the achieved level of social and personal resources.