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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Predictors of loneliness and different types of social isolation of rural-living older adults in the United Kingdom | | Author(s) | Jolanthe Louise de Koning, Afroditi Stathi, Suzanne Richards |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 37, no 10, November 2017 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, November 2017 |
| Pages | pp 2012-2043 |
| Full text* | http://opus.bath.ac.uk/50465/1/Ageing_and_Society_GaPL_manuscript_accepted_PURE_version_08.06.2016_PDF.pdf |
| Annotation | Loneliness and social isolation are recognised, conceptually distinct threats to health and well-being in older age, but limited evidence is available on their predictors in rural populations. This study performed logistical regression modelling to explore the predictors of loneliness, isolation from one's family and isolation from one's community in 884 British rural-living older adults (57.9% female; mean age 71.5, standard deviation = 8.1 years) within the Grey and Pleasant Land data-set (GaPL). The participants were from three rural communities in South Wales and three in South West England. While 13 per cent of participants reported feeling lonely, 49 per cent reported isolation from their family and 9 per cent reported isolation from their community. Minimal cross-over between groups was observed. Widowhood, financial difficulties, area deprivation, and self-reported impairments in physical and mental health predicted loneliness. Greater financial difficulty gave lower odds of isolation from one's family, and higher levels of community engagement gave lower odds of isolation from the community. Ageing in place (longer residency) was the only common predictor for all three dependent variables. Initiatives aimed at tackling loneliness and social isolation in rural-living older people must recognise that the two concepts are distinct, affecting different population sub-groups with mostly different risk factor profiles. Future interventions and policies should clearly identify whether their target is loneliness or social isolation and tailor their interventions appropriately. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-171110003 A |
| Classmark | DV: TP: RL: 3DQ: 82Y: 9 |
| *Online access to the full text may require a payment |
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information about this article, and many others, can be found on the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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