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A new study published in European Journal of Aging found that having a partner had a greater impact than having children in helping to prevent loneliness among older adults during the first wave of the pandemic. Researchers from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Florence, the University of Maryland County Baltimore and the SGH Warsaw School of Economics analyzed data from more than 35,000 adults age 50 and older from the Health, Aging Survey and retirement in Europe to examine whether there was no partner. and older adults without children reported more loneliness and how that changed over the course of the pandemic.
Before the pandemic when asked “Have you felt lonely recently?” those older adults who did not have one tie but had the other (parents without a partner or couple without children) were at greater risk of loneliness. However, during the pandemic, this combined status mattered less. More significant was the independent status of being single or childless. And specifically, not having a partner had the greatest influence on loneliness.
During the first wave of the pandemic, respondents were asked “Have you felt lonely recently?” and “have you felt lonelier than before the pandemic?” While those without a partner and those without children were more likely to experience loneliness, those without a partner were more likely to experience a more significant change in their loneliness.
According to Nekehia Quashie, assistant professor of health studies at URI, one of the authors of the study, “what we found was that those who did not have a partner had a higher risk of feeling lonely, even if they were not alone before the pandemic. a higher risk of becoming lonely, more so than those who did not have children.”
Those who were lonely before the pandemic were less likely to break out of loneliness, regardless of their status, Quashie said.
In the decade before the pandemic, academics and public health officials have been increasingly concerned about loneliness, especially among older adults, for several reasons. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation efforts focused squarely on measures such as “physical distancing” and minimizing social interactions outside the immediate home, this increased concern, particularly for groups that they were already at greater risk of loneliness, Quashie said in the study’s rationale.
Interestingly, “unpartnered” older adults (no partner and no children), while still at risk of loneliness, were no more lonely than the other two groups (parents with no partner, no children) before the pandemic. To the researchers’ surprise, this was true during the course of the pandemic.
“With those without kin, they may have developed a range of resources and different coping strategies to manage a situation where they don’t have large networks to rely on, whether it’s an immediate personal crisis or, as we’ve seen, in pandemic, a major public health crisis,” Quashie said.
He added: “remember that the concept of loneliness is very subjective; basically we see loneliness as arising when desired or expected social interactions do not match their reality. So people have different thresholds for loneliness.”
Although the study did not examine well-being outcomes such as anxiety and depression, the results highlight the increased risk of loneliness among certain groups, both before and during the pandemic. As the population of single, childless older adults grows globally, it will be important for public health officials to consider how measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, which limited social interaction, affected those groups who are already at greater risk of loneliness and consider approaches that limit social isolation.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in loneliness around the world. More: Bruno Arpino et al, Loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Are single, childless older adults at higher risk?, European Journal of Aging (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s10433-022-00718-x Provided by University of Rhode Island
Citation: Having a partner more important than children to avoid loneliness during pandemic, finds new study (2022, August 3) Retrieved August 3, 2022 from
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