Overview

Defining loneliness

The definition of loneliness that we use is:

Loneliness is a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship, which happens when there is a mismatch between the quantity and quality of the social relationships that we have, and those that we want (Perlman and Peplau, 1981)

This definition refers to the cognitive discrepancy theory, where loneliness is regarded as a discrepancy between the desired and achieved levels in the quality and quantity of social relations.

Different types of loneliness

There are different types of loneliness: emotional, and social and existential loneliness.

• Emotional loneliness is the absence of a significant other with whom a close attachment or meaningful relationship existed (a partner or close friend).
• Social loneliness is the lack of a wider social network of friends, neighbours or colleagues.
• Existential loneliness is described as a universal aspect of the human condition which expresses the separateness of the person from others.

Loneliness can be a transient feeling that comes and goes. It can also be situational; for example only occurring at certain times like Sundays, bank holidays or Christmas. Or loneliness can be chronic; this means someone feels lonely all or most of the time.

Loneliness can also be characterised by its intensity, or how strongly it is felt, which can change from moment to moment and over different durations of time.

Social isolation

Loneliness is linked to social isolation but it is not the same thing. Isolation is an objective state whereby the number of contacts a person has can be counted. One way of describing this distinction is that you can be lonely in a crowded room, but you will not be socially isolated.

Loneliness and health

• Loneliness is likely to increase your risk of death by 26% (Holt-Lunstad, 2015)
• Loneliness, living alone and poor social connections are as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. (Holt-Lunstad, 2010)
• Loneliness is worse for you than obesity. (Holt-Lunstad, 2010)
• Loneliness and social isolation are associated with an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke [1]
• Loneliness increases the risk of high blood pressure [2]
• Loneliness with severe depression is associated with early mortality [3] and loneliness is a risk factor for depression in later life [4]
• Loneliness and social isolation put individuals at greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia [5]

Loneliness and older people

• The number of over-50s experiencing loneliness is set to reach two million by 2025/6. This compares to around 1.4 million in 2016/7 – a 49% increase in 10 years [6]
• Half a million older people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all [7]
• Well over half (59%) of those aged 85 and over and 38% of those aged 75 to 84 live alone [8]
• Two fifths all older people (about 3.9 million) say the television is their main company [9]
• Using longitudinal studies on loneliness in the UK from the past 70 years, Professor Christina Victor has shown that the percentage of older people experiencing chronic loneliness has remained broadly static since the 1940s; with 6-13% of people over the age of 65 reporting they feel lonely ‘all or most of the time’.[i] (This study is where the commonly used ‘10% of older people are lonely’ statistic is drawn from, taking 10% as an average.)
• Longitudinal studies also show a rise in the number of people aged over 65 who feel lonely ‘sometimes’: Victor suggests that this increase could be as much as from 19% to 38% over the last 6 decades.

Loneliness and people of all ages

• In total , 45% of adults feel occasionally, sometimes or often lonely in England. This equates to twenty five million people.
• In 2016 to 2017, there were 5% of adults (aged 16 years and over) in England reporting feeling lonely “often/always” – that’s 1 in 20 adults. Furthermore, 16% of adults reported feeling lonely sometimes and 24% occasionally. [10]
• Research commissioned by Eden Project initiative The Big Lunch found that disconnected communities could be costing the UK economy £32 billion every year. [11]
• Characteristics of people who are more likely to experience loneliness include: those who are widowed, those with poorer health and those with long-term illness or disability. 43.45% of the group reporting bad or very bad health are often/always lonely. [4]

Loneliness and gender

• According to the ONS, women reported feeling lonely more frequently than men. They were significantly more likely than men to report feeling lonely “often/always”, “some of the time” and “occasionally” and were much less likely than men to say they “never” felt lonely [12]
• While higher percentages of older women report loneliness compared to men, a greater number of older men (50+) report moderate to high levels of social isolation [13]
• 14% of older men experienced moderate to high social isolation compared to 11% of women [8]

Loneliness and families

• A survey by Action for Children found that 43% of 17 – 25 year olds who used their service had experienced problems with loneliness, and that of this same group less than half said they felt loved. [14]
• Action for Children have also reported 24% of parents surveyed said they were always or often lonely.

Loneliness and disabled people

• Research by Sense has shown that up to 50% of disabled people will be lonely on any given day. [15]