It's been known for years that loneliness is a significant public health problem across the globe. New data suggests the problem may be getting worse.
, and its serious and detrimental effects on physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Loneliness isn't necessarily defined by the amount of time one spends alone or the number of friendships a person has. Instead, it is a subjective experience involving a mismatch between the quality of social connections one has in reality versus the connections one wants. And it has truly negative consequences for all aspects of well-being.
Loneliness has been increasing both in the United States and worldwide. New research suggests that among the middle-aged, Americans are far lonelier than their peers in Europe—though loneliness is increasing everywhere., associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University and published in American Psychologist, long-term datasets from 14 countries were analyzed.
In the next generation, Americans also reported significantly higher levels of loneliness in the generation referred to as Generation X—those born between 1965 and 1984—compared to every country except Great Britain. These folks, who would mostly meet the definition of the younger side of middle-aged, seem to be on pace to have even higher levels of loneliness than the Baby Boomers if their rates keep increasing.
Further disheartening, loneliness seemed to be increasing over time for most age groups across multiple countries. Splitting certain generations, like American Baby Boomers, showed that the younger members of the generation were lonelier at earlier ages.The study authors suggest some factors might play a role.
Moreover, there may be differences in how older Americans are treated relative to their younger peers and mindsets about the aging process that may differ cross-culturally. Perhaps the relative unlikelihood of multi-generational living in the U.S. compared with other countries, for instance, leads to increased isolation and loneliness among older Americans in an even more dire way than in other countries.
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