TY - JOUR
T1 - Loneliness of older adults: social network and the living environment
AU - Kemperman, Astrid
AU - van den Berg, Pauline
AU - Weijs - Perrée, Minou
AU - Uijtdewillegen, C.G.J.
PY - 2019/1/31
Y1 - 2019/1/31
N2 - The social participation and integration of older adults are important aspects of healthy aging. However, in general, older adults have smaller social networks than their younger counterparts due to changes in their life cycle stage, such as retirement or age-related losses, along with a declining health and increasing mobility limitations. Consequently, with increasing age, an increasing proportion of older people experience feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Previous studies that have analyzed the relationships between loneliness, social networks, and the living environment have often been based on bivariate relationships or included only a limited number of variables. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze multiple relationships in a more comprehensive framework. Data were collected using a survey among 182 adults aged 65 years and over in the Netherlands. A Bayesian belief network (BBN) modeling approach was used that derives all direct and indirect relationships between the variables. The results showed that feelings of loneliness are directly related to satisfaction with one's social network and neighborhood attachment and are indirectly related to perceived safety and satisfaction with local amenities and services. This knowledge is relevant to urban planners and policy makers who focus on creating livable and healthy social neighborhoods for the aging population.
AB - The social participation and integration of older adults are important aspects of healthy aging. However, in general, older adults have smaller social networks than their younger counterparts due to changes in their life cycle stage, such as retirement or age-related losses, along with a declining health and increasing mobility limitations. Consequently, with increasing age, an increasing proportion of older people experience feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Previous studies that have analyzed the relationships between loneliness, social networks, and the living environment have often been based on bivariate relationships or included only a limited number of variables. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze multiple relationships in a more comprehensive framework. Data were collected using a survey among 182 adults aged 65 years and over in the Netherlands. A Bayesian belief network (BBN) modeling approach was used that derives all direct and indirect relationships between the variables. The results showed that feelings of loneliness are directly related to satisfaction with one's social network and neighborhood attachment and are indirectly related to perceived safety and satisfaction with local amenities and services. This knowledge is relevant to urban planners and policy makers who focus on creating livable and healthy social neighborhoods for the aging population.
KW - aging
KW - Bayesian belief network (BBN)
KW - loneliness
KW - neighborhood
KW - social network
KW - social participation
KW - Aging
KW - Loneliness
KW - Social network
KW - Social participation
KW - Neighborhood
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060950553&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph16030406
DO - 10.3390/ijerph16030406
M3 - Article
C2 - 30708985
AN - SCOPUS:85060950553
VL - 16
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1660-4601
IS - 3
M1 - 406
ER -