Loneliness, depression and sociability in old age

TLDR

The aging population is large and growing, yet many older adults face physical, psychological, and social changes that lead to loneliness and depression, partly because they lose contact with friends and struggle to form new relationships. The study aimed to examine how depression, loneliness, and sociability interrelate among 55 older adults. The authors assessed depression, loneliness, and sociability using the Beck Depression Inventory, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Eysenck Sociability Scale in 55 participants. The analysis showed a significant correlation between depression and loneliness, while most participants exhibited average sociability and preferred staying socially engaged.

Abstract

The elderly population is large in general and growing due to advancement of health care education. These people are faced with numerous physical, psychological and social role changes that challenge their sense of self and capacity to live happily. Many people experience loneliness and depression in old age, either as a result of living alone or due to lack of close family ties and reduced connections with their culture of origin, which results in an inability to actively participate in the community activities. With advancing age, it is inevitable that people lose connection with their friendship networks and that they find it more difficult to initiate new friendships and to belong to new networks. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationships among depression, loneliness and sociability in elderly people.This study was carried out on 55 elderly people (both men and women). The tools used were Beck Depression Inventory, UCLA Loneliness Scale and Sociability Scale by Eysenck.Results revealed a significant relationship between depression and loneliness.Most of the elderly people were found to be average in the dimension of sociability and preferred remaining engaged in social interactions. The implications of the study are discussed in the article.