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Social isolation and loneliness in later life: A parallel convergent mixed-methods case study of older adults and their residential contexts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, USA

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  • Finlay, Jessica M.
  • Kobayashi, Lindsay C.

Abstract

Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly prevalent among older adults in the United States, with implications for morbidity and mortality risk. Little research to date has examined the complex person-place transactions that contribute to social well-being in later life. This study aimed to characterize personal and neighborhood contextual influences on social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Interviews were conducted with independent-dwelling men and women (n = 124; mean age 71 years) in the Minneapolis metropolitan area (USA) from June to October, 2015. A convergent mixed-methods design was applied, whereby quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in parallel to gain simultaneous insights into statistical associations and in-depth individual perspectives. Logistic regression models predicted self-reported social isolation and loneliness, adjusted for age, gender, past occupation, race/ethnicity, living alone, street type, residential location, and residential density. Qualitative thematic analyses of interview transcripts probed individual experiences with social isolation and loneliness. The quantitative results suggested that African American adults, those with a higher socioeconomic status, those who did not live alone, and those who lived closer to the city center were less likely to report feeling socially isolated or lonely. The qualitative results identified and explained variation in outcomes within each of these factors. They provided insight on those who lived alone but did not report feeling lonely, finding that solitude was sought after and enjoyed by a portion of participants. Poor physical and mental health often resulted in reporting social isolation, particularly when coupled with poor weather or low-density neighborhoods. At the same time, poor health sometimes provided opportunities for valued social engagement with caregivers, family, and friends. The combination of group-level risk factors and in-depth personal insights provided by this mixed-methodology may be useful to develop strategies that address social isolation and loneliness in older communities.

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  • Finlay, Jessica M. & Kobayashi, Lindsay C., 2018. "Social isolation and loneliness in later life: A parallel convergent mixed-methods case study of older adults and their residential contexts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 25-33.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:208:y:2018:i:c:p:25-33
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.05.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Pudney, Stephen E. & Shields, Michael A., 2022. "Economic gradients in loneliness, social isolation and social support: Evidence from the UK Biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    3. Andreia Costa & C Joana Sousa & Paulo Rosário Carvalho Seabra & Ana Virgolino & Osvaldo Santos & Joaquim Lopes & Adriana Henriques & Paulo Nogueira & Violeta Alarcão, 2021. "Effectiveness of Social Prescribing Programs in the Primary Health-Care Context: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Negi, Nalini Junko & Siegel, Jennifer L. & Sharma, Priya B. & Fiallos, Gabriel, 2021. "“The solitude absorbs and it oppresses”: ‘Illegality’ and its implications on Latino immigrant day laborers' social isolation, loneliness and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    5. Compernolle, Ellen L. & Finch, Laura E. & Hawkley, Louise C. & Cagney, Kathleen A., 2021. "Momentary loneliness among older adults: Contextual differences and their moderation by gender and race/ethnicity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    6. Louise Mansfield & Christina Victor & Catherine Meads & Norma Daykin & Alan Tomlinson & Jack Lane & Karen Gray & Alex Golding, 2021. "A Conceptual Review of Loneliness in Adults: Qualitative Evidence Synthesis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-19, November.
    7. Kristi J. MacDonald & Gonneke Willemsen & Dorret I. Boomsma & Julie Aitken Schermer, 2020. "Predicting Loneliness from Where and What People Do," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-9, April.
    8. Finlay, Jessica & Esposito, Michael & Langa, Kenneth M. & Judd, Suzanne & Clarke, Philippa, 2022. "Cognability: An Ecological Theory of neighborhoods and cognitive aging," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    9. Jiang, Yanping & Li, Mengting & Chung, Tammy, 2023. "Living alone and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older adults: The moderating role of perceived neighborhood cohesion," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    10. Michelle M. Vine & Kate Mulligan & Rachel Harris & Jennifer L. Dean, 2023. "The Impact of Health Geography on Public Health Research, Policy, and Practice in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(18), pages 1-14, September.
    11. Jessica Finlay & Joy Jang & Michael Esposito & Leslie McClure & Suzanne Judd & Philippa Clarke, 2023. "‘My neighbourhood is fuzzy, not hard and fast’: Individual and contextual associations with perceived residential neighbourhood boundaries among ageing Americans," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(1), pages 85-108, January.
    12. Verena H Menec & Nancy E Newall & Corey S Mackenzie & Shahin Shooshtari & Scott Nowicki, 2019. "Examining individual and geographic factors associated with social isolation and loneliness using Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, February.

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