According to a US study published in the journal Psychological Science, loneliness follows a U-shaped pattern in adulthood―people are loneliest during younger and older adulthood, and least lonely in middle age. This conclusion was based on a review of data from nine long-term studies including 1,28,118 adults of ages 13 to 103 years from over 20 countries. All the studies showed the U-shaped curve.
Loneliness was more prevalent among women, and in people who were divorced or widowed, more isolated, less educated, had lower income, had more functional limitations, were smokers or had poorer cognitive, physical, or mental health. The researchers think middle-aged adults are the least lonely because they have more opportunities for social interactions, like being married, going to work, and making friends with the parents of their kids’ friends. Young adulthood can be lonely because people are often “navigating several important life transitions (like education, careers, friend groups, relationship partners and families)”.
“What was striking was how consistent the uptick in loneliness is in older adulthood. We do have evidence that married people tend to be less lonely, so for older adults who are not married, finding ongoing points of meaningful social contact will likely help mitigate the risk of persistent loneliness,” the study authors said.
