Loneliness and Mode of Social Contact in Late Life.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Social contact may alleviate loneliness, but little is known about within-person daily fluctuations in loneliness and social encounters. Older adults who feel lonely may engage in different modes of social contact (in-person, phone, digital). This study asked how different forms of contact are associated with loneliness throughout the day.

Methods

Participants were 313 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65-90). They completed ecological momentary assessments reporting on their social encounters (e.g., type of social partner, mode of contact) and their loneliness every 3 hr for 5-6 days. We differentiated close social ties from ties not identified as close (i.e., weak ties).

Results

We examined within-person effects using multilevel models. Findings revea

SUBMITTER: Zhang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11350237 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature