Loneliness and isolation
04/04/13 02:33
For decades, social scientists have had evidence that loneliness and isolation can shorten a person’s life. It is common in contemporary research to separate the two categories. Social isolation is a more objective category. You can compare the number of times a person has contact with others in the course of their daily and weekly routines. Loneliness is more subjective. It really boils down to how someone feels. There are those who have significant social contact in their lives who report that they feel lonely and others who live relatively isolated lifestyles who report that they do not feel lonely.
In a new study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), researchers from University College in London followed thousands of people over the age of 52 for seven to eight years to assess the effect of loneliness and isolation. There were some significant surprises in their findings. The researchers used a standardized questionnaire that assessed both the sense of loneliness and how much contact individuals had with friends and family. These questionnaires were administered over a period of several months in 2004 and 2005. Then those who had completed the questionnaires were followed for the next seven or eight years. Their health statistics and mortality rates were compiled and compared. The reason for selecting people over the age of 52 was that the study was intended to focus on elders, but the long-term span of the study meant that researchers chose to follow people who were not yet age 60 as they approached that age as well as those of different ages. Because the study covered nearly a decade and is ongoing, researchers knew that age itself has a definite effect on mortality after individuals reach their 80’s and 90’s.
The surprise, for me, in their findings was that people who report greater levels of loneliness are not necessarily more likely to die. I expected the opposite. I thought that one’s attitude and feelings toward time alone would have a great impact on their longevity. However, the study discovered that those who report loneliness were also more likely to have other risk factors, like being poor and having existing health problems. Once those factors were taken into account, the extra risk associated with loneliness pretty much disappeared. The study does not indicate that loneliness causes an increased rate of mortality. It does, however, point to the fact that poverty and illness may contribute to an increased sense of loneliness.
Social isolation, however, is linked to an increased rate of mortality. I didn’t expect this result simply because I know a number of individuals who choose their isolation and who are completely alone with it. One woman we knew was widowed relatively early and continued to live alone on the family farm for the remainder of her long and happy life. She seemed quite content to stay home alone and filled her days with gardening, bird watching, canning and other activities. Researchers found many people who did not see their isolation as a problem, but rather a conscious choice over which they had control. In general people who were isolated felt that they had more control over their situation than those who reported loneliness. Those who were lonely often did not see ways to change their situation.
It is possible that isolate persons have higher mortality because having other people around has practical benefits as one ages. For example, another person might encourage or enable one to receive more aggressive health care for chronic conditions. In the event of an emergency medical situation, another person can summon help when a person who lost consciousness, for example, would not be able to get help for him or her self.
Even though the study was large and well done, it has not convinced all of the scientists who study this area. Bert Uchino, a University of Utah psychology professor says that the study’s conclusions are influenced by the simple fact that people’s definition of loneliness is changing in the Internet age. “People . . . may think that they’re connected to other people because they’re on Facebook,” he says. They may not report feeling lonely. But that kind of connection may not have the health benefits of direct contact with other people. University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo believes that the study may also indicate differences in attitude between British and people from other parts of the world. The study focused on British citizens, who may be less likely to admit feeling lonely than are people in the United States.
All of this is of some interest to me because I live a life that is neither lonely nor isolated. My daily routine brings me into close and often intimate contact with a lot of different people. I am a partner in a long and meaningful marriage. I use the Internet to remain in contact with people who I have met face to face, deeply love and get together with as often as possible. In fact, because of the nature of my work, I often seek times and places to be alone. I am an early riser in part because this part of my day is spent alone, while others are sleeping. I like to go into my office when others do not expect me to be there because the telephone is silent and I can focus on other work. I imagine that retirement might involve more travel to places with fewer people, longer walks and paddles in isolated locations, and increased opportunities to be alone with my thoughts and prayers.
I have no fear of being lonely. There are plenty of people in my life to whom I can turn if I have need. And my prayer life and my relationship with God is such that I never feel truly alone. That is a factor that I did not see addressed in the study. I am convinced that loneliness is not just the product of physical isolation, nor is it due to sociological factors such as poverty and illness alone. Loneliness is a spiritual problem. Successful treatment of loneliness has, in my opinion, a distinctly religious character. Those who are able to have a positive relationship with God are less likely to experience loneliness.
It is a topic that could use more study.