Contents:
Presumably, people—both young and old—are nowadays better motivated and better skilled at maintaining satisfying relationships. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author s and source are credited. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.
Journal List Eur J Ageing v. Eur J Ageing. Published online Apr 4. Pearl A. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Corresponding author. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract The focus in this paper is on the social domain of quality of life, and more particularly loneliness. Introduction Quality of life is a complex, multifaceted construct that requires multiple approaches from different theoretical angles Diener and Suh ; Walker and Mollenkopf Is loneliness a problem specifically for old people?
Open in a separate window. Are people in individualistic societies most lonely? Explanations of cross-national differences If cross-national differences are observed, the question arises as to how to explain them. Population composition A common procedure is to examine whether the distribution of determinants differs across countries, and subsequently whether this distribution accounts for cross-national differences.
Country characteristics Here I draw on a study of general life satisfaction, given the absence of relevant studies on loneliness. Has loneliness increased over the past decades?
According to the guiding principle of critical sociology, the imbalance of power and access to resources between groups is an issue of social justice that needs to be addressed. In doing so it uncovers not only the commonalities and the similarities between mid-life and older women, but also some of the variation and diversity relating to ethnicity and race, class, disability and sexual orientation. When they outlive their spouses, they are often suddenly burdened with decisions and tasks with which they they have had no experience. Which action reflects ageism? However, peripheral and semi-peripheral nations face similar increases without comparable resources.
Conclusion Questions of quality of life in late life have been dominated by health issues Walker and Mollenkopf Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author s and source are credited.
References Abramson A, Silverstein M. Images of aging in America Flexibility, friendship and family. Pers Relatsh. New York: Plenum; Developing and testing a model of loneliness. J Pers Soc Psychol. A review of loneliness: concept and definitions, determinants and consequences.
Rev Clin Gerontol. The development of a Rasch-type loneliness scale. Appl Psychol Meas. Living arrangements of older adults in the Netherlands and Italy: coresidence values and behaviour and their consequences for loneliness. J Cross Cult Gerontol. A 6-item scale for overall, emotional, and social loneliness; confirmatory tests on survey data.
Res Aging. Loneliness and social isolation. In: Vangelisti A, Perlman D, editors. The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships. New York: Cambridge University Press; Life satisfaction in an enlarged Europe. Measuring quality of life: economic, social, and subjective indicators. Soc Indic Res. The experience of social and emotional loneliness among older people in Ireland. Ageing Soc. Loneliness among the never and formerly married: the importance of supportive friendships and a desire for independence.
J Gerontol. Aging and social support. In: Ritzer G, editor. The Blackwell encyclopedia of sociology.
Oxford: Blackwell; Social and emotional loneliness among divorced and married men and women: comparing the deficit and cognitive perspectives. Basic Appl Soc Psychol. Changes in older adult loneliness: results from a seven-year longitudinal study. Social foundations of postindustrial economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press; Modernity and self-identity: self and society in the late modern age.
Cambridge: Polity Press; Should we be concerned about age segregation? The conceptualization and measurement of quality of life in older adults: a review of empirical studies published during — Proximity and contacts between older parents and their children: a European Comparison. J Marriage Fam. Depressive symptoms in late life. A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: results from two population-based studies.
Growing old and lonely in different societies: toward a comparative perspective.
Buy Women Ageing: Changing Identities, Challenging Myths 1 by Miriam Bernard, Val Harding Davies, Linda Machin, Judith Phillips (ISBN: ). Women Ageing provides a better understanding of what ageing is like for Start reading Women Ageing: Changing Identities, Challenging Myths on your Kindle.
Old age and loneliness: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in the Tampere longitudinal study on aging. Can J Aging. Individual experiences as cultural: a cross-cultural study on loneliness among the elderly. A comparative perspective on intergenerational support: responsiveness to parental needs in individualistic and familialistic countries.
Eur Soc. Social inequality in later life: cross-national comparison of quality of life. American perceptions of aging in the 21st century: chart book in the myths and realities of aging series. Perspectives on loneliness.
Loneliness: a sourcebook of current theory, research and practice. New York: Wiley; Loneliness: a life-span, family perspective. In: Milardo RM, editor. Families and social networks. London: Sage; European and Canadian studies of loneliness among seniors. Toward a social psychology of loneliness. In: Gilmour R, Duck S, editors. Personal relationships 3: personal relationships in disorder. London: Academic Press; Loneliness research: a survey of empirical findings.
Preventing the harmful consequences of severe and persistent loneliness. DHHS publication no. ADM 84— Coping with stress and by stress: Russian men and women talking about transition, stress and health.
Soc Sci Med. Influence on loneliness in older adults: a meta-analysis. The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population.