Researchers have not yet discovered a solution for eliminating loneliness in older age.
Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London have created an innovative framework, titled the Social Relationship Expectations (SRE) Framework, to explain the mechanisms behind loneliness in older adults and inform future research on interventions.
The research, published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, identifies what older adults expect from their social relationships. These expectations get at the core of how loneliness is commonly defined: as the gap between expected and actual social relationships.
To create the framework, the authors drew upon a large body of previous research, including qualitative research from lower- and middle-income countries and prominent psychological theories of lifespan development. The framework pinpointed four universal and two age-specific expectations that could help to inform future loneliness interventions:
