Age and loneliness in 25 European nations
Open accessAbstract
The relationship between age and loneliness is intriguing. While loneliness has been widely perceived as a problem of old age, there is evidence suggesting that adolescence is the peak age for experiencing loneliness and there are demonstrable variations between nations in reported rates of loneliness. However, comparative data for examining both the prevalence of loneliness across age groups and across nations are sparse. As the first phase of a larger project, we explore the prevalence of loneliness across different age groups in 25 European nations, with a focus on people of an advanced age. After discussing issues of comparability, we present our empirical findings employing data collected in the third round (2006–07) of the European Social Survey (total sample size 47,099, age range 15–101) which included a ‘self-rating’ loneliness scale. Our results suggest that the prevalence of loneliness does increase with age for the combined sample. However, the nation in which one lives shows a greater impact than age on reported levels of loneliness, with Russia and Eastern European nations having the highest proportions of lonely people (about 10–34% for different age groups) and Northern European nations the lowest (mostly below 6%). Possible explanatory factors are identified and discussed, which provides the groundwork of a subsequent and formal study.
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A strong association between loneliness and depression has been found.
“A strong association between loneliness and depression has been found (31–33).”
The frequency of loneliness is age-dependent, being most prevalent in those <30 and >80 years of age and peaking in adolescence and old age.
“Cross-sectional research indicates that the frequency of loneliness is age-dependent (Batigun, 2005); being most prevalent in those <30 and >80 years of age (Yang and Victor, 2011); peaking in adolescence and old age (Qualter et al., 2015).”
From Loneliness as a predictor of suicidal ideation and behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies (2020) · cites this paper as Yang and Victor, 2011
Higher rates of mortality among lonely older adults have been reported by a number of researchers.
“Higher rates of mortality among lonely older adults have been reported by a number of researchers [15, 23, 24].”
From Loneliness and health in older adults: a mini-review and synthesis (2016) · cites this paper as [15]
More recent large-scale population-based studies of older adults have reported broadly similar findings on risk factors for loneliness.
“More recent large-scale, population-based studies of older adults have reported broadly similar findings [15, 18].”
From Loneliness and health in older adults: a mini-review and synthesis (2016) · cites this paper as [15]
Perissinotto et al. reported that 29% of respondents aged 75 years or older were lonely, defined as endorsing one of the loneliness items at least 'some of the time.'
“Perissinotto et al. [15], using the 3-item version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale in the HRS [13], reported that 29% of respondents aged 75 years or older were lonely, defined as endorsing one of the loneliness items at least ‘some of the time.’”
From Loneliness and health in older adults: a mini-review and synthesis (2016) · cites this paper as [15]
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- Authors
- YANG, K., & VICTOR, C.
- Affiliations
- Durham University (GB)
- Brunel University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- VICTOR, CHRISTINA
- Venue
- Ageing and Society
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2011-02-09
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1368-1388
- ISSN
- 0144-686X (ISSN-L)
- 1469-1779
- OpenAlex
- W2160334919
- Semantic Scholar
- 7d93b9f9d7a92ed155e39241aa6209bd5f20342d
- Cited by
- 540
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 59 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 62 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 6.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Ageing and Society (publishedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Keywords
- loneliness, age differences, older adults, cross-national comparison, European Social Survey, adolescence, Russia, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe
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