Tempe, United States:
Middle-aged Americans are lonelier than Europeans. This is the key finding of a study my team recently published in American Psychologist .
Our research uncovered a trend that has persisted across generations and is impacting Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. Middle-aged people in Britain and Mediterranean Europe are not that far behind those in the United States. In contrast, middle-aged adults in continental and northern Europe reported the lowest levels of loneliness and stability over time.
We used survey data from more than 53,000 middle-aged adults in the United States and 13 European countries between 2002 and 2020. We tracked changes in their reported loneliness every two years during midlife, ages 45 to 65. This span gives us the so-called Silent Generation, born between 1937 and 1945; the Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964; and members of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1974.
Our research clearly shows that today’s middle-aged Americans experience more loneliness than their peers in European countries.This is consistent with existing evidence that mortality among working-age adults in the United States is rising
We focus on middle-aged adults for several reasons. Middle-aged people are the main body of the labor force and the backbone of society. But today they are also facing increasing challenges, especially aging parents and children who have increasing demands for support.
In the aftermath of the Great Recession from late 2007 to 2009, middle-aged Americans experienced worse mental and physical health than their peers in the 1990s. Compared with several European countries, middle-aged adults in the United States currently have more depressive symptoms and higher rates of chronic illness, pain, and disability.
why this is important
A sense of belonging is an innate and basic need. If this is lacking, there may be downstream consequences.
Loneliness is bad for your health. Researchers have found that loneliness is as dangerous as smoking. Loneliness increases people’s risk of illness, depression, chronic disease and premature death.
Loneliness is considered a global public health problem. The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory in 2023 documenting the epidemic of loneliness and the urgent need to increase social connections. Other countries, such as the UK and Japan, have appointed loneliness ministers to ensure relationships and loneliness are considered in policy development.
Don’t know what yet
Why do middle-aged Americans lag in loneliness and poorer overall physical and mental health?
We did not test this directly in our study, but in the future we hope to zero in on the factors driving these trends. We believe that the loneliness reported in Americans compared with other countries can be attributed to a limited social safety net and cultural norms that prioritize individualism over community.
Personalization comes with psychological costs, such as a reduction in social connections and support structures associated with loneliness. Relative to other countries in our study, Americans have a higher propensity to relocate, which is associated with weak social and community ties.
One of the reasons we chose European countries is that they differ dramatically from the United States in terms of social and economic opportunities and social safety nets. Social and economic inequalities may increase a person’s feelings of loneliness by reducing their ability to meet basic needs. Generous family and work policies may reduce midlife loneliness by reducing financial stress and work-family conflict and by addressing health and gender inequalities.
Our findings on loneliness, combined with previous research on life expectancy, health, happiness, and cognition, suggest that midlife is a risk factor for poor mental and physical health in the United States.
A research profile is a short introduction to interesting academic work.
Frank J. Infurna, Associate Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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