Dispelling the myths around loneliness

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Loneliness is not just a problem for older people, nor is it a product of individualistic societies.
Loneliness is an unpleasant experience that occurs when people feel their relationships do not meet their need for intimacy and social contact. It is not the same as social isolation - for many people are quite happy to be alone. Pearl Dykstra, a professor of family demography at Utrecht University in The Netherlands, has been looking at research and found that many of our assumptions about loneliness simple don't hold up.

For example, you don't necessarily get lonelier as you get older. The most lonely groups in society are those aged 15-24 and those over 80. Between these ages, there is really not much difference in loneliness levels. It's also often assumed that in the 'individualistic' society - where extended families are not the norm - that people must be more lonely. "There is actually more loneliness in Southern European countries," says Professor Dykstra. In Greece and Portugal, more than 19 per cent of people are lonely, compared to fewer than five per cent in Denmark. This is partly because living alone is expected, especially as you get older, in Northern cultures but less so in the South. So if you end up alone in these cultures, you are more likely to feel your expectations have not been met.

And finally, it's also assumed that we are more 'alienated' today, with increasing divorce rates and decreased interest in church and religion. But we are less lonely, in fact, than we were in 1980, according to research in The Netherlands. It may be that we have just learned to manage change, like divorce, better. Clearly there is much more to be learned about the underlying causes of loneliness.

Source
World Ageing & Generations Congress 27th September 2006

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