Daily Loneliness in Young and Older Adults

Loneliness is defined as perceived social isolation. Previous research has identified several predictors of chronic loneliness, such as poor self-reported health and living alone. However, the predictors of daily fluctuations in transient experiences of loneliness have not been closely examined. For one week, 200 participants were asked to complete a daily diary survey about their social interactions and loneliness each night. Consistent with predictions, participants reported feeling lonelier on days with less time interacting with others and with poorer quality social interaction. The effect of time spent interacting with others on daily loneliness was stronger for participants higher in chronic loneliness. Supplemental analyses showed that participants felt less lonely on days of the weekend and that additional hours of interaction were more effective in reducing daily loneliness for older adults than younger adults. Examining this differential response in daily loneliness to interaction quality and quantity could inform future interventions.