In one study, UK and Australian researchers at the University of Dundee in Dundee, UK, conducted a 30-minute telephone loneliness survey of 1,289 participants in Australia, aged 18 and older. They found that over 35 percent of adults are lonely. People did not necessarily get lonelier as they got older. Findings revealed that people in their forties reported the highest levels of loneliness. Furthermore, retired people reported less loneliness than unemployed people. People with higher incomes and strong religious beliefs also reported less loneliness.
"One of the most interesting findings of this study is that it challenges the belief that retirement is linked to diminished social contacts and that people get lonelier as they get older," says researcher William Lauder, PhD, RMN, professor of nursing and midwifery at the University of Dundee, in a news release.
In another study, published in Psychological Reports, researchers conducted a loneliness survey of 711 participants, aged 13 to 80. They also found that people did not necessarily get lonelier as they got older. However, in this study, young adults, 19 to 30 years old, reported more loneliness than the other age groups.
"Contrary to popular belief, the elderly report lower distress as part of loneliness than the younger age groups while, due to their maturity and life experiences, they are more able to appreciate the growth and personal development which may result from loneliness," says researcher Ami Rokach, PhD.
Posted by Kristopher Foster on April 30, 2006 11:19 AM
