Loneliness Conceptual Review

We know that loneliness has negative impacts on how we feel about ourselves and people around us and it can have harmful effects on our physical and mental health. Yet loneliness is a complicated subject.

Loneliness is conceptually and empirically distinct from social isolation, and to a range of deep and sometimes long-last negative feelings. Sometimes it is viewed more positively in terms of solitude and a chance to escape from the pressures of life. It is often difficult for people to talk about loneliness and it is reported in different ways by researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

This review is needed because the evidence on loneliness is scattered and tends to be focused on single population groups, and most often considers older people only. There is a lack of clarity about definitions of loneliness and related concepts, and how they should be evaluated, measured and applied in policy and practice.

The review topic was agreed with organisations who work on the national policy for loneliness in the UK, as well as those who manage, deliver and research it.

This review wanted to identify and address differences in the language used in undertaking research, making decisions and developing practice about loneliness because the way we talk about loneliness influences decisions about how best to alleviate loneliness across peoples’ lives.

We looked at studies published worldwide since 1945 and found 144 qualitative sources conceptualising loneliness across the adult life course. In these studies, three types of loneliness were identified: social loneliness, emotional loneliness and existential loneliness. Social loneliness refers to the perceived deficit in the quality of social connections.

Social loneliness was conceptualised in studies of young people, paid and unpaid work, healthcare, place, migrant and cultural groups, and older people and health and social, communities, health and illness, rural and urban environments, and migrant, cultural and gender groups.

Emotional loneliness refers to feelings which arise from loss of meaningful relationships that meet a deeply felt need to be recognised and belong. Studies reporting on emotional loneliness across the life course included work on loss of a spouse, physical and mental health conditions, family contexts and place.

Existential loneliness refers to an experience of feeling entirely separate from other people, often when confronted with traumatic experiences or mortality. Studies including people with mental illness, older population groups and in psychotherapy described existential loneliness.

Loneliness is different from social isolation, aloneness and solitude. The element of choice when deciding how alone, or not, we want to be is important. It’s easy to overlook, when focusing on reducing loneliness, but solitude was identified as important and positive in a number of the studies. Conflating aloneness, social isolation and solitude with loneliness could lead to ineffective or stigmatising policies or projects.

The review found three different types of loneliness experienced by different populations:

• Social loneliness refers to the perceived lack of quantity as well as quality of relationships.
• Emotional loneliness describes the absence or loss of meaningful relationships that meet a deeply felt need to be recognised and ‘belong’
• Existential loneliness refers to an experience of feeling entirely separate from other people, often when confronted with traumatic experiences or mortality.

In practice, people experience a mix of the above. The three concepts are not mutually exclusive and there are overlaps between them.

• It’s important to consider all the facets of a person’s situation – gender, sexuality, ethnicity, physical ability, and so on – to develop a nuanced understanding of how loneliness is experienced. For example, the review found female immigrants who were on long-term sick leave from work showed that existential loneliness was the triple feeling of being locked inside one’s home; detached from one’s country of origin; and rejected in the workplace.

How we talk about loneliness influences decisions

The review looked at differences in concepts and language used in research and practice. The aim was to identify and address the complexities associated with loneliness for different people.This is incredibly important because the way we talk about loneliness influences decisions about how best to alleviate loneliness across peoples’ lives.

More research, policy and practice needed on all across loneliness types

There is a large body of research on conceptualising social loneliness which reflect the way in which we think about loneliness and how we act upon it. However, emotional and existential aspects of loneliness are fundamental and should be taken into account both in terms of research and measurement but also when designing policies, programmes, interventions etc. Therefore, there is scope in research, policy and practice to explore in more detail the different types of loneliness and their interrelationships to understand who feels lonely, when, where, in what contexts and what works to help them.

Evidence gaps in relation  to younger and mid-life adults

There were no studies that explored concepts of existential loneliness in young people, for example. We’ve outlined all the conceptual findings for these age groups in the lifecourse visualisation, and summarised the extensive findings for older adults detailed in the report. You can find the findings for all age groups in the full report. We are currently compiling the gaps in the evidence from this conceptual review. Look out for a gaps map coming later this year.

People at higher risk of experiencing loneliness share some similar characteristics with people at risk of lower wellbeing

Such as the role of poor self-reported health – and some differences – like age.