Search

Age differences in the prevalence of loneliness have been a key focus among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. However, the degree to which those reflect genuine differences in the experience of loneliness or the way individuals understand and respond to loneliness measures is yet to be examined. The current study explored the age measurement invariance of the 20-item Revised University of California Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LSR) and its shorter forms in a U.K. sample of adults aged 18 to 99 years ( M = 50.6, SD = 19.7). The fit of different structures/versions was explored through multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 4,375) and local structural equation modeling ( N = 19,521). Results indicated a poor and/or inconsistent structure for the 20-item UCLA-LSR and many of its shorter forms. Of the structures considered, 12 showed acceptable model fit and received age measurement invariance testing through multigroup CFA and alignment; 10 of these achieved full, partial, or approximate measurement invariance. Our findings suggest that the age measurement invariance of loneliness measures should not be assumed, and crucially, this must be explored before accurate and meaningful age comparisons can be made. Implications for measurement research, and clinical and community practice, are discussed.

Introduction: Anomalous perceptions are characterised by the subjective experience of a range of distorted and/or hallucinatory percepts. Whilst considerable attention has been paid to the neurocognitive processes contributing to anomalous perceptions amongst older adults, less is known about the social factors (e.g. social isolation, loneliness). Furthermore, it is unknown whether loneliness and social isolation are associated with different types of anomalous perceptions, including anomalous body-centred self-experiences and anomalous external experiences., Methods: This study examined the cross-sectional relationships between loneliness, objective social isolation, and anomalous perceptions in a sample of community-dwelling older adults ( N  = 242, M age  = 71.87 ± 7.73, range = 52-91, 67.8% female) using structural equation modelling., Results: Higher levels of loneliness were associated with more anomalous body-centred self-experiences and anomalous external experiences. Those reporting more loneliness also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression; however, the relationship between loneliness and anomalous perceptions was not mediated by these factors. Social disconnection from a religious group was associated with more anomalous external experiences and being married/living with a partner was associated with more anomalous body-centred self-experiences., Conclusions: These findings suggest that loneliness and social isolation have differential associations with anomalous perceptions in older adults and provide additional evidence that attending to loneliness in older adults is important.

Background: Loneliness is common in people with psychotic disorders and associated with reduced health and well-being. The relationship between loneliness in psychosis and health service use is unclear. This study examined whether loneliness predicts increased health care utilization in this population, independently of sociodemographics, health and functioning., Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Second Australian National Survey of Psychosis. Loneliness was assessed using a single-item question, rated on a 4-point scale (not lonely; lonely occasionally; some friends but lonely for company; socially isolated and lonely). Health service use (past 12-months) was measured by the number of general practitioner (GP), emergency department (ED) and outpatient visits, inpatient admissions, and home visits by mental health professionals. Frequent hospital users comprised those in the top 15% of users of at least two services., Results: Negative binomial regression analysis showed that loneliness was associated with an increased number of GP visits, ED visits and inpatient admissions, only. Socially isolated and lonely survey participants were more than twice as likely (OR = 2.6) of being 'frequent users' compared to non-lonely responders. Following stringent adjustment for covariates, loneliness remained significantly associated with being a 'frequent user' and showed a non-significant trend to an increased number of GP visits and inpatient admissions., Conclusions: Loneliness is a complex social and personal problem for people with psychosis, related to greater use of some health services. Better strategies for identifying and responding to loneliness in this population have the potential to increase well-being and contain health service utilization costs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Loneliness is an established risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health. People with psychotic disorders experience high rates of both cardiometabolic disease and loneliness, but how these factors are associated is poorly understood. Thus, using data from the second Australian National Survey of Psychosis we examined whether loneliness is associated with the likelihood of cardiometabolic disorder in psychotic illness. Loneliness was assessed using a single-item measure, with a 4-point scale (not lonely; lonely occasionally; some friends but lonely for company; socially isolated and lonely) whilst cardiometabolic status was assessed in terms of the criteria used to determine metabolic syndrome (elevated waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose). Logistic regression was employed to examine whether loneliness was associated with metabolic syndrome status, and its individual components, with and without adjustment for confounding variables. Increased loneliness was associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in people with psychosis (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.36, p < .001) and to the risk of elevated waist circumference (p < .01), elevated triglycerides (p < .05) and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < .05). Notably, these associations largely persisted when controlling for a range of covariates. Feeling lonely is significantly associated with metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia specifically, in people with psychotic disorders. These data suggest that the potential benefits of interventions to reduce loneliness in psychosis may extend to cardiovascular as well as psychosocial functioning, and should be explored in future research., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Loneliness involves subjective, rather than objective, social isolation and has a range of negative effects on mental and physical functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of loneliness in psychotic disorders and its association with symptoms and cognitive performance., Method: Data were drawn from the second Australian National Survey of Psychosis and comprised responses from 1642 participants with an International Classification of Diseases 10 diagnosis of psychotic disorder who had completed a semi-structured interview of symptoms and social functioning (including loneliness), along with standardized assessments of current (digit symbol coding; DSC) and premorbid (National Adult Reading Test) cognitive ability. We examined the prevalence of loneliness across the diagnostic categories of psychosis, and its association with psychotic and non-psychotic symptoms and digit symbol coding scores., Results: The prevalence of loneliness was high, ranging from 74.75% in participants with delusional disorders to 93.8% in depressive psychosis, and was significantly higher than in the general population. Loneliness was also significantly associated with anhedonia and subjective thought disorder. Participants feeling socially isolated/lonely for company had significantly lower DSC scores than those who only felt lonely occasionally. Unexpectedly, participants who reported not feeling lonely had the lowest DSC scores., Conclusions: Loneliness is common across all psychotic disorders, particularly in depressive psychosis. It is specifically associated with ongoing loss of pleasure and disordered thoughts as well as impairment in current cognitive functioning. However, poor cognitive functioning is not inevitably associated with loneliness. Implications for personalized treatment of psychosis are discussed., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Loneliness is recognised as a 'grand challenge' for social work, given its negative impact on health and well-being. But there has been limited progress on how social workers should respond. We aimed to characterise social work research on loneliness from 2016 to 2021, to inform policy, practice and training. We utilised the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews with a narrative synthesis of results. Data were extracted on study characteristics, assessment and intervention strategies, the role of social workers in this literature and limitations in the research. The final review consisted of 366 studies. Results showed a steady growth in research outputs on loneliness over time, predominantly (40 per cent) aimed at improving social work practice. Qualitative research methods (45 per cent) and cross-sectional study designs (61 per cent) were most common. Fewer than one-third of studies (32 per cent) used a formal assessment tool to identify loneliness. The most common intervention strategies examined were enhancing social relationships (30 per cent) and person-centred solutions (21 per cent). A slight majority (57 per cent) of peer-reviewed journal articles had a social work lead author. The review indicates social workers are engaged in research and action on loneliness, but ensuring this expertise is visible, led by social workers and accessible, remains a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore whether self-reported mental wellbeing (anxiety, depression and loneliness) in audiologists has changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine possible factors contributing to audiologists' current state of mental wellbeing. Design: Two cross-sectional surveys were distributed at two different time points during the COVID-19 pandemic screening for psychological distress (PHQ-4: anxiety and depression) and loneliness (UCLA-3). Study sample: 117 audiologists from around the world. Results: Findings demonstrated that over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic audiologists' levels of depression decreased, levels of anxiety were low and stable, whilst levels of loneliness were stable and high. Younger age was associated with lower levels of mental well-being. Responses to open text questions suggests that audiologists could be supported through development of clear and consistent guidelines on COVID-19 workplace restrictions, allowing for more workplace flexibility and providing mental health support through employee assistance programs. Conclusions: The rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness observed highlight the continued need for mental health and workplace interventions to support audiologists throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent recovery period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness, a negative emotion stemming from the perception of unmet social needs, is a major public health concern. Current interventions often target social domains but produce small effects and are not as effective as established emotion regulation (ER)-based interventions for general psychological distress (i.e., depression/anxiety). Given that loneliness and distress are types of negative affect, we aimed to compare them within an ER framework by examining the amount of variance ER strategies accounted for in loneliness versus distress, and comparing the ER strategy profiles characterising them. Participants (N = 582, Mage = 22.31, 77.66% female) completed self-report measures of loneliness, distress, and use of 12 cognitive (e.g., cognitive reappraisal) or behavioural (e.g., expressive suppression) ER strategies. Regression analyses revealed that ER explained comparable variance in these constructs. Latent profile analysis identified seven profiles differing in ER patterns, with no distinct loneliness or distress profile identified. Rather, similar patterns of ER characterised these two constructs, involving the greater use of generally maladaptive strategies and the lesser use of generally adaptive strategies. However, loneliness was additionally characterised by less use of strategies involving social connection/expression. Overall, our study supports the utility of ER for understanding loneliness. Established ER-based frameworks/interventions for distress may have transdiagnostic utility in targeting loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to examine the mental well-being of audiologists in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, between 23 June and 13 August 2020. A self-report survey included screening measures for psychological distress (PHQ-4: anxiety and depression) and loneliness (UCLA-3). 239 audiologists from around the world. The prevalence of psychological distress was 12.1% (subscales for anxiety 16.3% and depression 10.4%), and loneliness 32.2%. Depression and loneliness were higher in those participants self-reporting perceived job insecurity, with psychological distress (anxiety and depression) higher in those from South Africa. Accessibility to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) appears to be a protective factor. Well-being interventions, such as EAPS, are needed to support audiologists during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective is to summarise recent findings from the 2010 Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP) and examine their implications for future policy and planning to improve mental health, physical health and other circumstances of people with a psychotic disorder. Methods: Survey of High Impact Psychosis collected nationally representative data on 1825 people with psychotic illness. Over 60 papers have been published covering key challenges reported by participants: financial problems, loneliness and social isolation, unemployment, poor physical health, uncontrolled symptoms of mental illness, and lack of stable, suitable housing. Findings are summarised under the rubric of participant-ranked top challenges. Results: The main income source for the majority (85%) of participants was a government benefit. Only one-third was employed, and the most appropriate employment services for this group were under-utilised. High rates of loneliness and social isolation impacted mental and physical health. The rate of cardiometabolic disease was well above the general population rate, and associated risk factors were present from a very young age. Childhood abuse (30.6%), adult violent victimisation (16.4%) and alcohol and substance abuse/dependence (lifetime rates of 50.5% and 54.5%, respectively) complicated the clinical profile. Treatment with medication was suboptimal, with physical health conditions undertreated, a high rate of psychotropic polypharmacy and underutilisation of clozapine in chronic persistent psychotic illness. Only 38.6% received evidence-based psychosocial therapies. In the previous year, 27.4% had changed housing and 12.8% had been homeless, on average for 155 days. Conclusion: Money, social engagement and employment are the most important challenges for people with psychotic illness, as well as good physical and mental health. An integrated approach to recovery is needed to optimise service delivery and augment evidence-based clinical practice with measures to improve physical health and social circumstances. Meeting these challenges has the potential to reduce costs to government and society, as well as promote recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness is common in youth and associated with a significantly increased risk of psychological disorders. Although loneliness is strongly associated with psychosis, its relationship with psychosis proneness is unclear. Our aim in this paper was to test the hypothesis that loneliness and schizotypal traits, conveying risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, are similar but separate constructs. Pooling data from two non-clinical student samples (N = 551) we modeled the structure of the relationship between loneliness and trait schizotypy. Loneliness was assessed with the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-3), whilst negative (Social Anhedonia) and positive (Perceptual Aberrations) schizotypal traits were assessed with theWisconsin Schizotypy Scales-Brief (WSS-B). Fit statistics indicated that the best fitting model of UCLA-3 scores comprises three correlated factors (Isolation, Related Connectedness, and Collective Connectedness), consistent with previous reports. Fit statistics for a two factor model of positive and negative schizotypy were excellent. Next, bi-factor analysis was used to model a general psychopatholgy factor (p) across the three loneliness factors and separate negative and positive schizotypy traits. The results showed that all items (except 1) co-loaded on p. However, with the influence of p removed, additional variance remained within separate sub-factors, indicating that loneliness and negative and positive trait schizotypy are distinct and separable constructs. Similarly, once shared variance with p was removed, correlations between sub-factors of loneliness and schizotypal traits were non-significant. These findings have important clinical implications since they suggest that loneliness should not be conflated with the expression of schizotypy. Rather, loneliness needs to be specifically targeted for assessment and treatment in youth at risk for psychosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]