Loneliness, Interventions

Conceptualization of Loneliness

Humans are inherently social beings, needing both supportive social networks and intimate social relationships. Most people have an intuitive notion of loneliness and describe it in different ways. Common to all such descriptions is the subjectivity of the feeling and that it is for the most part an unpleasant and distressing experience. The determining factor is how people feel about or respond to loneliness, rather than in the physical sense of the experience.

An important distinction with regards to the development of interventions is the duration of the experience. Transient loneliness relates to the common everyday swings of mood, which are unlikely to require intervention. Situational loneliness follows a change in life circumstances, such as becoming widowed or moving to an unfamiliar area. Interventions at this stage can be effective in both preventing and alleviating loneliness. Chronic loneliness is an ongoing enduring experience of loneliness, where the nature and quality of the individual's social networks affect their ability to deal with their loneliness. Finally, the term aloneness is sometimes used to express a serious, long-term, chronic experience of loneliness associated with long spells of lack of any meaningful contact with the external environment. Interventions targeting these two chronic conditions are essential to ensure people's health, quality of life, and life satisfaction.

Factors Associated with Loneliness

For the purpose of developing effective interventions, several aspects of loneliness need to be considered: demographic characteristics such as age, gender, culture, and living alone; people's perceptions of personal control, coping, and feelings of dependency; the experience of major life events, such as job loss or retirement, loss of friends, relatives and companions, change of residence, and health problems; and personal resources, such as mental health (particularly depression), disability, and decreased mobility. Finally, the stigma of loneliness leads to underreporting of loneliness. Men and older people, in particular, are reluctant to admit feelings of loneliness because of the stigma of what is seen as a social failure and not being able to cope.

Interventions to Alleviate and Prevent Loneliness

A vast array of interventions has been developed over time to alleviate and prevent loneliness in vulnerable groups, ranging from hi-tech Internet or phone-based services to small low-cost self-help groups. Some of these activities and services are theory- and/or evidence-based, whereas others have evolved through practitioners' experience and local knowledge. Interventions intended to alleviate loneliness could be said to have three broad goals: to help lonely individuals establish satisfying interpersonal relationships; to prevent loneliness from evolving into more serious health problems, such as depression or suicide; and to prevent loneliness from occurring in the first place. The majority of these interventions fall into four, sometimes overlapping categories: social support/social activity; education; service provision; and problem solving, as either group or one-to-one interventions.

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