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The researchers used a web-based survey of 2,843 participants, aged 20 to 69, from across the United States.
The study, published in the online edition of 10 November 2020 of
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, found that loneliness levels were highest in the 1920s and lowest in the 1960s, with another peak in the mid-1940s.
“What we found was a number of predictors of lifelong loneliness,” said senior correspondent author Dilip V. Jeste, MD, senior associate dean for Healthy Aging and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at UC. San Diego School of Medicine.
Dilip V. Jeste, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Healthy Aging and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
The researchers noted that lower levels of empathy and compassion, smaller social networks, lack of a spouse or partner, and increased sleep disturbances were consistent predictors of loneliness across decades. Less social self-efficacy – or the ability to reflect confidence in exercising control over one’s motivation, behavior, and social environment – and greater anxiety have been associated with worse loneliness in all decades of age except the 1960s.
Loneliness was also associated with a lower level of resolve in the 1950s.
The study confirmed previous reports of a strong inverse association between loneliness and wisdom, particularly the component of pro-social behaviors (empathy and compassion).
“Compassion appears to reduce the level of loneliness at all ages, possibly allowing individuals to accurately perceive and interpret the emotions of others along with behaviors that are useful towards others, and thus increase their own social self-efficacy and social networks,” she said. Jeste.
The survey suggested that people in their 20s were dealing with high stress and pressures as they tried to establish a career and find a life partner.
“Many people over this decade are also constantly comparing themselves on social media and are concerned about how many likes and followers they have,” said Tanya Nguyen, PhD, first author of the study and assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School. of Medicine. “The lower level of self-efficacy can lead to greater loneliness.”
People in their forties begin to experience physical difficulties and health problems, such as hypertension and diabetes.
“People can start losing loved ones close to them and their children are growing up and becoming more independent. This has a strong impact on self-purpose and can cause a change in self-identification, resulting in increased loneliness, ”Nguyen said.
Jeste said the findings are particularly relevant during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to understand what strategies can be effective in reducing loneliness during this difficult time,” Jeste said. “Loneliness is compounded by the physical distancing required to stop the spread of the pandemic.”
Nguyen said intervention and prevention efforts should take life stage problems into consideration. “There is a need for personalized and nuanced prioritization of prevention goals across different groups of people,” Jeste said.
Co-authors include: Ellen Lee, Rebecca Daly, Tsung-Chin Wu, Yi Tang, Xin Tu, Ryan Van Patten, and Barton Palmer, all at UC San Diego.
Funding for this study came, in part, from the National Institute of Health (grants K23 MH118435, K23 MH119375, T32 MH019934 and R01 MH094151); UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging; and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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