The relationship between social isolation and loneliness in the second half of life

Cereghetti, Stefano and Cavalli, Stefano and Pusterla, Elia R.G. and Zaccaria, Daniele (2022) The relationship between social isolation and loneliness in the second half of life. In: ESA RN01 Midterm Conference, Vienna, Austria. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

In recent decades, social isolation and loneliness have been the subjects of increasing scholarly attention. Yet, research focusing on their combination is still lacking. Our primary objective is to investigate whether and how some socio-demographic factors (e.g. gender, education) influence the combination of social isolation and loneliness in the second half of life. We employ data from wave 21 (2019) of the Swiss Household Panel. The study sample includes 6187 community-dwelling adults aged 50 and over. First, we created specific social isolation and loneliness indicators and combined them into a four-group typology (i.e. both lonely and isolated, only lonely, only isolated, neither lonely nor isolated). Second, we estimated multinomial logistic regression models to assess the general socio-demographic profile of each group in different age classes. Results show that the prevalence of the four categories varies across age groups. Moreover, we find significant associations between some socio-demographic characteristics and individuals’ affiliation to a particular group. For instance, while both men and women aged 85+ are more socially isolated than their younger counterparts, only men in this age class are also lonelier. Consequently, whereas old old women fall more often under the only isolated category, old old men come more frequently under the both lonely and isolated one. The interaction between age and other socio-demographic variables influences the distribution of social isolation and loneliness. This age-dependent effect of personal characteristics should be taken into account when implementing interventions to address social isolation and loneliness. Experiences of inclusion and exclusion in social relations in older age.

Item Type:	Article in conference proceedings or Presentation at a conference (Lecture)
Subjects:	Social studies Social studies > Others in social studies
Department/unit:	Dipartimento economia aziendale, sanità e sociale > Centro competenze anziani
Depositing User:	Roberta Torriani
Date Deposited:	27 Jul 2022 09:32
Last Modified:	27 Jul 2022 09:32
URI:	http://repository.supsi.ch/id/eprint/13477

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