A new study finds loneliness generally increases with age, but middle-aged people in the US report feeling lonelier than other age groups.

A new study found middle-aged Americans demonstrated higher levels of loneliness than older adults.

  • tetris11@lemmy.mlEnglish
    11·
    1 day ago

    “There is a general perception that people get lonelier as they age, but the opposite is actually true in the US where middle-aged people are lonelier than older generations,” says lead author Robin Richardson, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Rollins.

    The opposite would imply that the elderly population were more lonely as middle-aged adults, and then gained friends as they got older. I think it’s more true that the older generations had more opportunity to hang out, and this was moreso reflected when they were middle aged (to which we have no stats collected to compare).

    Being unmarried, not working, depression, and poor health were major reasons why loneliness varied with age, but the importance of these contributors and the combination of factors were different in each country.

    In the US, not working was the top reason for a higher amount of loneliness among middle-aged adults, while in other countries it resulted in more loneliness among older adults.

    Adults in Denmark report the overall lowest levels of loneliness, while those in Greece and Cyprus reported the overall highest levels.

    Denmark isn’t a surprise, happy bastards.

    Greece and Cyprus is a big surprise, I thought these were largely tight-knit communities living in villages and small towns.

    • Mothra@mander.xyzEnglish
      4·
      1 day ago

      That’s valid, originally when I read the headline I presumed the reason older people were less lonely than middle aged people was that older people often get sent to retirement homes, which are usually shared with others.

      • tburkhol@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        1 day ago

        They’re also using self-reported loneliness, which I would guess that people who’ve been alone for decades accommodate and feel less lonely.

    • gian @lemmy.grys.itEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      The opposite would imply that the elderly population were more lonely as middle-aged adults, and then gained friends as they got older. I think it’s more true that the older generations had more opportunity to hang out, and this was moreso reflected when they were middle aged (but we have no stats collected to compare).

      Or it can simply imply that the elderly population was less lonely as middle-aged adults and now keep more of the friends they had, or just have a preference to meet other people the same age.