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Cited by 632Health disparities and outcomesAging and Gerontology ResearchAging, Elder Care, and Social Issues

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 58 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Older adult loneliness: myths and realities

Open access
Dykstra, Pearl A.·2009·European Journal of Ageing
DOI 10.1007/s10433-009-0110-3PMC PMC2693783
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Abstract

The focus in this paper is on the social domain of quality of life, and more particularly loneliness. The empirical literature on older adult loneliness is reviewed, thereby challenging three often-held assumptions that figure prominently in public debates on loneliness. The first assumption that loneliness is a problem specifically for older people finds only partial support. Loneliness is common only among the very old. The second assumption is that people in individualistic societies are most lonely. Contrary to this belief, findings show that older adults in northern European countries tend to be less lonely than those in the more familialistic southern European countries. The scarce data on Central and Eastern Europe suggest a high prevalence of older adult loneliness in those countries. The third assumption that loneliness has increased over the past decades finds no support. Loneliness levels have decreased, albeit slightly. The review notes the persistence of ageist attitudes, and underscores the importance of considering people's frame of reference and normative orientation in analyses of loneliness.

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Crossref · 10.1007/s10433-009-0110-3

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Figures

Fig. 1 Reports of loneliness, by age (%). Based on findings reported in De Jong Gierveld (1998), Perlman and Peplau (1984), Pinquart and Sörensen (2001)
Fig. 1 Reports of loneliness, by age (%). Based on findings reported in De Jong Gierveld (1998), Perlman and Peplau (1984), Pinquart and Sörensen (2001)CC BY-NC · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Explanations of cross-national differences in loneliness
Fig. 2 Explanations of cross-national differences in lonelinessCC BY-NC · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 Repeated cross-sectional assessments of loneliness in the Netherlands (% lonely). Based on findings reported in Van Tilburg (2005)
Fig. 3 Repeated cross-sectional assessments of loneliness in the Netherlands (% lonely). Based on findings reported in Van Tilburg (2005)CC BY-NC · PubMed Central

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Citations

Cites

Show all 59 references

Research works printed but not linked: 10

  1. Abramson A, Silverstein M (2006) Images of aging in America 2004. AARP and the University of Southern California, Washington
  2. De Jong Gierveld J (2008) Intergenerational relationships and transfers between older adults and their co-resident and not co-resident children. Paper presented at the 2008 European Population Conference, Barcelona, 9–12 July
  3. Delhey J (2004) Life satisfaction in an enlarged Europe. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
  4. Döring N (1997) Einsamkeit in die “Informationsgesellschaft”. ZUMA-Nachrichten 40(21):36–52
  5. National Council on the Aging (2000) American perceptions of aging in the 21st century: chart book in the myths and realities of aging series. National Council on the Aging, Washington, DC
  6. Peplau LA, Perlman D (1982) Perspectives on loneliness. In: Peplau LA, Perlman D (eds) Loneliness: a sourcebook of current theory, research and practice. Wiley, New York, pp 1–18
  7. Perlman D, Peplau LA (1981) Toward a social psychology of loneliness. In: Gilmour R, Duck S (eds) Personal relationships 3: personal relationships in disorder. Academic Press, London, pp 31–56
  8. Samuelsson G, Andersson L, Hagberg B (1998) Loneliness in relation to social, psychological and medical variables over a 13-year period: a study of the elderly in a Swedish rural district. J Ment Health Aging 4:361–378
  9. United Nations (2005) Generations and gender programme: survey instruments. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and United Nations Population Fund, New York and Geneva
  10. Walker A (1993) Age and attitudes: main results from a Eurobarometer survey. Commission of the European Communities, Bruxelles

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Metadata

Authors
Dykstra, P. A.
Affiliations
Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NL)
Corresponding author
Dykstra, Pearl A.
ORCID
Dykstra, Pearl A.
Venue
European Journal of Ageing
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2009-04-04
Volume
6
Issue
2
Pages
91-100
ISSN
  • 1613-9372 (ISSN-L)
  • 1613-9380
DOI
10.1007/s10433-009-0110-3
PMC
PMC2693783
OpenAlex
W2046141868
Cited by
632
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 25
FWCI
16.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • European Journal of Ageing (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • KNAW research portal (Royal Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW)) (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (acceptedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • KNAW Research Portal (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues
Keywords
loneliness, older adults, quality of life, social sphere, ageism, cross-national comparison, normative orientation, reference frames

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