Conditions Affecting Loneliness in the Elderly

Amy Christine McClure, The College of Wooster

Abstract

"With regard to human affairs, not to laugh, not to cry, not to become indignant, but to understand." Spinoza This Independent Study project tries to move toward an understanding of the dynamics that affect loneliness and life satisfaction in the elderly. By addressing the question of how the physical and social conditions of their life affect the elderly's level of social fulfillment, loneliness and life satisfaction a broader understanding may be achieved. Aging, societal and environmental influences will be looked at, theories regarding general frameworks, social fulfillment and loneliness will be discussed, other empirical literature will be reviewed, and an empirical model will be developed to test these influences. And the findings will be examined and critiqued. It was found that the physical aspects of life affect the quantity of interactions, social fulfillment, and loneliness of people directly. The quantity of interactions of people was found to affect their loneliness and life satisfaction. And social fulfillment was found to affect loneliness and life satisfaction. The physical aspects may affect life satisfaction indirectly through the quantity of interactions of those people