Loneliness in urban neighbourhoods: an Anglo-Dutch comparison

T. Scharf, J. de Jong-Gierveld

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    216 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Past studies in the UK and the Netherlands indicate that loneliness varies significantly according to characteristics of older people's residential environment. This raises questions regarding potential neighbourhood influences on individuals' social relationships in later life. This article examines neighbourhood influences on loneliness, using multiple classification analysis on comparable empirical data collected in the UK and the Netherlands. UK data arise from a survey of 501 people aged 60+ in deprived neighbourhoods of three English cities. Netherlands data derive from the NESTOR Living Arrangements and Social Network survey, with a sub-sample of 3,508 people aged 60+ drawn from a nationally representative sample of older people, living in 11 municipalities. Both surveys incorporated the 11-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. In addition to neighbourhood characteristics and indicators of health and social embeddedness, a typology of eight groups of persons was developed that accounted for individuals' age, sex, and partner status. While 13% of participants in the UK were severely lonely, the proportion in the Netherlands was just four per cent. Mean loneliness scores in the UK varied significantly between the neighbourhoods under investigation. Additionally, the evaluated quality of the residential neighbourhood accounted for a relatively large degree of variance in loneliness in both countries. © Springer-Verlag 2008.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)103-115
    Number of pages13
    JournalEuropean Journal of Ageing
    Volume5
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Loneliness in urban neighbourhoods: an Anglo-Dutch comparison'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this