Browsing by Subject "Loneliness"
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Item Open Access Cognitive Function and Decline Among Older Adults: The Roles of Sensory Loss and Psychosocial Factors(2019) Ge, ShaoqingIn the context of rapid global aging, cognitive decline among older adults has become a major public health and social issue. A better understanding of the risk factors for cognitive decline is important for developing interventions to preserve cognitive function among older adults. Knowledge gaps still exist in understanding the impact of sensory loss (i.e., hearing loss and vision loss) and psychosocial factors (i.e., social support and loneliness) on cognitive function and cognitive decline. This dissertation aims to fill these knowledge gaps by (1) examining the relationship between psychosocial factors and cognitive function in a unique population: community-dwelling Chinese older adults in the United States (U.S.); (2) understanding the longitudinal relationship between sensory loss and cognitive decline among community-dwelling older adults in the United States; and (3) exploring the mechanisms that accelerate or decelerate cognitive decline by examining the inter-relationships between sensory loss, psychosocial factors, and cognitive decline. The primary study conducted for this dissertation used structural equational modeling (SEM) to model the potential moderation or mediation effect of psychosocial factors on the relationship between sensory loss and cognitive decline over time. Findings from this dissertation deepen our understanding of the important roles that social support, loneliness, and sensory loss can play in cognitive function and decline among community-dwelling older adults. Findings from this dissertation also highlight the importance of adequately addressing the physical and psychological challenges encountered by older adults. Subsequent recommendations are provided to health providers and policy makers to help better preserve and promote cognitive health among older adults using a more holistic approach.
Item Open Access Combatting Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Elevated Suicide Risk Among Older Adults in North Carolina(2022-04) Hendel, Keren; Shipman, WillSocial isolation (the objective deficit in social relationships) and loneliness (the subjective deficit between an individual’s desired and actual social relationships) are public health issues that affect the health and well-being of many North Carolinians. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) seeks to develop a strategy to reduce social isolation, loneliness, and elevated suicide risk (SILES). Given the barriers to addressing SILES and the resources of NC DHHS, this strategy should include the formation of a task force, improved social isolation and loneliness screening, and support for community-based organizations. Social isolation and loneliness contribute to higher morbidity and mortality and are widespread. Social isolation and loneliness are associated with greater mortality and increased risk of stroke, heart disease, dementia, diabetes, high cholesterol, chronic conditions, anxiety, depression, and suicide. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 43 percent of adults over age 60 in the United States reported feeling lonely and 25 percent of adults over age 65 were considered socially isolated. By the middle of the pandemic, almost two-thirds of people aged 50 and older in the nation reported social isolation. NC DHHS recognizes the importance of social isolation and loneliness. The Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) developed a SILES working group in April 2020 to begin working to address these key public health issues. Later, DAAS encouraged the North Carolina Area Agencies on Aging to use Older American Act 2021 and various COVID-19 funding to support social connection. The Division of Health Benefits (North Carolina Medicaid) plans to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to address social isolation, loneliness, and elevated suicide risk among home and community-based services beneficiaries. The purpose of this report is to answer the following question: given the recent influx of funding to combat social isolation and loneliness, what strategy or strategies should the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services pursue to combat these issues? Based on an environmental scan, expert interviews, analysis of the recently conducted Social Isolation and Loneliness in North Carolina Survey, a landscape review of current screenings being used in North Carolina, interviews with other states and large cities, and a guided discussion with NC DHHS stakeholders, we recommend that North Carolina initially focus on coordinated existing efforts throughout the state that aim to improve social connection among older adults. In particular, we recommend NC DHHS: 1. Creates a SILES task force that includes NC DHHS Divisions, community-based organizations, older adult advocates, and researchers. The task force should be led by an individual at NC DHHS who reports directly to executive leadership and for whom SILES work is a top priority of their role. 2. Incorporate the UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale into existing Medicaid HCBS screening tools and NCCARE360 screenings. Incorporate referrals to existing SILES programs into the NCCARE360 referral network. Referral services should build over time to include more SILES programs occurring in North Carolina, in particular, those that are targeted toward specific communities of high need. Screening can help identify high-need communities and populations to prioritize for the development of SILES pilots and programs. 3. Fund existing community efforts and pilots through grants. Grants should be awarded in a way that prioritizes innovative programs that support high-need groups and support the state’s goal to create a comprehensive, person-centered SILES approachItem Open Access Gender, Loneliness, and Friendship Satisfaction in Early Adulthood: The Role of Friendship Features and Friendship Expectations(2013) Weeks, Molly StroudThree studies focus on an intriguing paradox in the associations between gender, friendship quality, and loneliness, and examine whether gender differences in friendship expectations help explain why the paradox occurs. Study 1 (n = 1761 college undergraduates) documents the three elements of this paradox: (1) females reported higher levels of various positive features in their friendships than did males; (2) higher levels of positive friendship features were associated with lower levels of loneliness; and (3) males and females reported similar levels of loneliness. Consistent with this paradox, when friendship features were statistically controlled, a statistical suppression effect was found such that females reported higher levels of loneliness than did males.
Study 2 (n = 1008 young adults aged 18 to 29) replicated each of the findings from Study 1 using a revised and expanded measure that reliably assessed a broader set of distinct friendship features. In addition to measuring friendship features and loneliness, Study 2 also examined friendship satisfaction, and here too a striking suppression effect emerged. Specifically, although females reported slightly higher levels of friendship satisfaction than did males, females reported lower levels of friendship satisfaction than did males when friendship features were statistically controlled. Another noteworthy finding was that several friendship features were more strongly related to friendship satisfaction for females than they were for males, suggesting that females may be more "sensitive" to subtle variations in friendship features than are males.
Study 3 (n = 419 young adults aged 18 to 29) further replicated the suppression effects observed in Studies 1 and 2, and was designed to learn whether gender differences in friendship expectations would help explain the paradox and suppression effects. Two different facets of friendship expectations were hypothesized and assessed with newly developed, highly reliable measures of each facet. The first facet, referred to as "feature-specific friendship expectations," focused on the degree to which individuals expect a best friendship to be characterized by each of the friendship features that were assessed in Study 2. The second facet, referred to as "feature-specific friendship standards," focused on identifying where individuals "set the bar" in deciding whether or not a friend's actions have fulfilled expectations in various friendship feature domains.
Gender differences were found for both facets of friendship expectations with females generally having higher expectations for their friends than did males. The two facets were only moderately correlated, and related in distinct ways to other variables of interest. Findings indicated that higher levels of feature-specific friendship expectations were generally associated with more positive functioning in the social domain (i.e., higher levels of positive friendship features and friendship satisfaction), whereas higher levels of feature-specific friendship standards were associated with potentially more problematic functioning (i.e., more negative responses to ambiguous violations of friendship expectations).
Study 3 also tested the hypothesis that discrepancies between feature-specific friendship expectations and the quality of a person's best friendship on each of the same features are associated with loneliness and also with friendship satisfaction. Polynomial regression analysis, rather than the traditional difference score approach, was used to test this hypothesis. The discrepancy hypothesis was not supported with regard to either loneliness or friendship satisfaction; possible explanations for this finding are discussed.
Together, findings from the three studies provide evidence of the replicability of the observed paradox, identify friendship quality as a suppressor variable on gender differences in loneliness and friendship satisfaction, and provide evidence for the existence of two distinct facets of friendship expectations. Results from this dissertation suggest important directions for future research designed to better understand the linkages among gender, social cognition, and social experience in contributing to emotional well-being for young adults.
Item Open Access The Loneliness Epidemic: The Call of Christian Communities to Create Meaningful Connection and Transform Loneliness into Belonging(2023) Rodawla, LaldinpuiaLoneliness is a common and near-universal experience that causes us to feel isolated and disconnected from others. More and more Americans experience it most or all the time. With at least 30% of the US population experiencing loneliness and 10% of lonely people suffering deeply, even before the Covid-19 pandemic set upon us in 2020, the loneliness epidemic is an issue that the whole society, including Christian communities, needs to combat. In a capitalist society that emphasizes individual freedom, autonomy, and productivity, we continue to experience economic prosperity and advancements in fields like healthcare and communication technology. At the same time, we have become more self-focused and mistrusting, while polarizing political divisions are growing ever wider. Fewer people join in social communities like church groups and sports teams, and an average person’s social network is declining. As a result, Americans are increasingly disconnected from friends, family, and neighbors. Loneliness tends to happen due to transitions such as aging, singleness, bereavements, disconnections, and a lack of connectedness, of community, and of belonging. There is a myth that elderly people are the loneliest group; the truth, however, is that young adults are the loneliest. This ongoing public crisis is not only causing people to suffer silently but also killing them literally, and the general public is not aware of it. Members of the lonely society are longing for acceptance, purpose, and love, and what they need are meaningful interpersonal relationships. Although Christ has called Christians to share the gospel and participate in his ministry of caring those who suffer and are in need, Christian communities in America are not ready to tackle the issue of loneliness. In order for them to tackle it, they must change their lens on loneliness, because it is often considered bad or undesirable by Christians. How can Christian communities create meaningful connections and transform loneliness into belonging? At the heart of the loneliness epidemic is the lack of meaningful relationships. The loneliness epidemic is a reminder that living a self-centered life is not life-giving nor sustaining. The fact that we have the loneliness epidemic despite the many opportunities to connect with one another is a reminder that we not only need stronger connections with one another, but also a deeper connection with our Creator. The loneliness epidemic is also a reminder that members of Christian communities cannot be complacent but must follow Jesus in their neighborhoods and reach out to those who are in need, including the lonely. I research loneliness from three perspectives: philosophy/theology, mental/emotional/physical/spiritual health, and the intersection of religion and health. In doing so, I explore the issues that can be beneficial to Christian communities in responding to the loneliness epidemic. I focus my research on such issues as how loneliness has an impact on individuals mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually; how loneliness affects demographics like young adults, the elderly, and Christian leaders; the role of psychotherapy and other interventions and approaches for reducing loneliness; and the necessary actions members of Christian communities and leaders can take part in against the loneliness epidemic. I explore the nature and dangers of loneliness from the perspectives of contemporary researchers on loneliness and theologians like Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Thomas Aquinas (1224 – 1274), and John of the Cross (1542-1591).
Item Open Access The social threats of COVID-19 for people with chronic pain.(Pain, 2020-10) Karos, Kai; McParland, Joanna L; Bunzli, Samantha; Devan, Hemakumar; Hirsh, Adam; Kapos, Flavia P; Keogh, Edmund; Moore, David; Tracy, Lincoln M; Ashton-James, Claire EItem Open Access Variability in the Quality of College Students’ Friendships: Associations with Loneliness, Belonging, and Representations of Friendships(2021) Yust, Paula Kathryn SchuttHaving a high-quality friendship has been consistently related to lower feelings of loneliness and greater feelings of belonging in college. Yet many students report having several close friendships and the contributions of the quality of these additional close friendships, and the variability between them, for loneliness and belonging in college is unclear. Furthermore, students’ representations of friendship may help explain variation in friendship quality across multiple friendships and between college students. This dissertation examines the quality of and satisfaction with three close friendships in college using both variable- and person-centered approaches to characterize within- and between-person friendship variability. It also considers connections between these friendships and loneliness, belonging, and representations of friendship. Both studies are drawn from a larger survey-based study of college students’ relationships (N = 674 undergraduates). Study 1 first provides descriptive information about the quality of and satisfaction with college students’ three closest friendships. Between- and within-person variability in friendship quality and satisfaction are examined and person-centered analyses are used to identify different profiles of multiple friendships. Study 1 considers the implications of each of these friendships, of within-person variability (range scores) across these friendships, of between-person variability in average and of maximum quality across friendships for loneliness and belonging, as well as examining person-centered friendship profile differences in loneliness and belonging in college. Findings from Study 1 indicated that college students’ friendships were generally high in positive quality and satisfaction. These friendships are similar in many ways, but the very best friendship also stood out in terms of positive friendship quality and satisfaction. Gender-specific friendship profiles were identified for positive quality, shared activities, and conflict, but not satisfaction, and having certain friendship profiles also corresponded to differences in loneliness and belonging. Additive effects for the quality of and satisfaction with additional friendships beyond the very best friendship in predicting loneliness and belonging were consistently found. For positive quality, the range of positive quality across friendships moderated the effect of the mean level of positive quality in buffering against loneliness, but no other within-person variability effects were found. Average and maximum quality across friendships did predict well-being, however, these aggregate metrics of multiple friendship quality and satisfaction were not better predictors of well-being than the quality of and satisfaction with the very best friendship alone. Collectively, these findings suggest that multiple friendships matter for well-being and to some degree, variability across friendships is also associated with well-being. Study 2 considers two types of friendship representations—friendship beliefs and friendship feature value—and their connections with between- and within-person variability in friendship quality and satisfaction. Overall maladaptive beliefs and average friendship feature value are examined as predictors of average quality, range in quality, maximum quality, and covariates of friendship profile membership. Additional exploratory analyses examine whether specific beliefs or features especially predict friendship quality or satisfaction. Findings indicated that beliefs and feature value were each unique predictors of between-person differences in average and maximum friendship quality and satisfaction across friendships. Furthermore, when looking at certain beliefs, the associations between those beliefs and friendship quality and satisfaction were stronger for men than for women. To a lesser degree, beliefs or feature value (depending on the friendship feature) were associated with within-person variability (range scores) in friendship quality and satisfaction. Beliefs and feature value also covaried with friendship profile membership. Collectively, this dissertation highlights the importance of the quality of and satisfaction with multiple friendships in college, links the quality of and satisfaction with multiple friendships with loneliness and belonging, and demonstrates the relevance of friendship representations for the quality of college students’ closest friendships.