From Social Structural Factors to Perceptions of Relationship Quality and Loneliness: The Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study

By Louise C. Hawkley, M. E. Hughes, L. Waite, Christopher M. Masi, R. Thisted, John T. Cacioppo. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2008

618 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Objectives The objective of this study was to test a conceptual model of loneliness in which social structural factors are posited to operate through proximal factors to influence perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness. Methods We used a population-based sample of 225 White, Black, and Hispanic men and women aged 50 through 68 from the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study to examine the extent to which associations between sociodemographic factors and loneliness were explained by socioeconomic status, physical health, social roles, stress exposure, and, ultimately, by network size and subjective relationship quality. Results Education and income were negatively associated with loneliness and explained racial/ethnic differences in loneliness. Being married largely explained the association between income and loneliness, with positive marital relationships offering the greatest degree of protection against loneliness. Independent risk factors for loneliness included male gender, physical health symptoms, chronic work and/or social stress, small social network, lack of a spousal confidant, and poor-quality social relationships. Discussion Longitudinal research is needed to evaluate the causal role of social structural and proximal factors in explaining changes in loneliness.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Health, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8c7d6cd3284762525f24d26d4eb3c72423025f38

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In General Health Professions

In Health

In Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology

Citations in the corpus

Social Relationships and Health: The Toxic Effects of Perceived Social Isolation. (2014, background): “, 2012), chronic work and/or social stress (Hawkley et al., 2008), a small social network (Hawkley et al.”
The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (2010, background): “These include an individuals’ actual interpersonal environments (e.g., number of individuals in the social network; Hawkley et al., 2008), activated interpersonal schemas (e.”
Living arrangements, intergenerational support types and older adult loneliness in Eastern and Western Europe (2012, neutral): “These factors represent obstacles to experiencing rewarding social involvements, and make people more vulnerable to loneliness (Hawkley et al. 2008).”
Loneliness among older European adults: results from the survey of health, aging and retirement in Europe (2018, methodology): “For instance, Hawkley et al (2008) used data from the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study and showed that loneliness among adults 50 to 68 years of age was significantly explained by socioeconomic status, as assessed by education and income.”
New Ways of Theorizing and Conducting Research in the Field of Loneliness and Social Isolation (2018, background): “, 2008); and (b) descriptive characteristics of the level of social integration, such as the size, the composition and the functioning of the personal network (intimate relationships as well as the broader group of acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors, and extended kin); the so-called proximal facto”
Perceived Social Isolation Makes Me Sad: Five Year Cross-Lagged Analyses of Loneliness and Depressive Symptomatology in the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study (2010, background): “…include low socioeconomic status, poor marital quality, infrequent contact with friends and family, few social roles, lack of participation in voluntary organizations, physical health symptoms, and physical limitations (Hawkley et al., 2008; Savikko, Routasalo, Tilvis, Strandberg, & Pitkala, 2005).”
The De Jong Gierveld short scales for emotional and social loneliness: tested on data from 7 countries in the UN generations and gender surveys (2010, neutral): “…household, have been associated with chronic stressful situations (Savikko et al. 2005), the experience of being disadvantaged, less opportunities to engage in joyful activities with confidants and other members of the social network, and with emotional and social loneliness (Hawkley et al. 2008).”
The Neuroendocrinology of Social Isolation (2014, background): “…include male gender, physical health symptoms, chronic work or social stress, small social network, and lack of a spousal confidant (e.g., Hawkley et al. 2008).1 However, the 1Ethnic differences in loneliness tend to be attributable primarily to differences in socioeconomic status, and…”
Loneliness Predicts Increased Blood Pressure: Five-Year Cross-Lagged Analyses in Middle-Aged and Older Adults (2010, background): “Number of relationships can be important, but perceived shortcomings in the quality of one’s relationships are particularly closely linked to loneliness (Hawkley et al., 2008; Peplau & Perlman, 1982; Pinquart & Sörensen, 2003).”
Loneliness Across the Life Span (2015, background): “Marital status continues to predict loneliness throughout adulthood (Diener, Gohm, Suh, & Oishi, 2000), but marital quality is superior to marriage per se in explaining individual differences in loneliness (Hawkley et al., 2008).”
Loneliness: Clinical Import and Interventions (2015, background): “Nevertheless, it is not the quantity of friends, but the quality of significant friends/confidants that counts (Hawkley et al., 2008).”
Loneliness, Health, and Mortality in Old Age: A National Longitudinal Study (2012, positive): “Possessing a richness of social attachments and friends protects against mortality (House et al., 1988), and generally signifies lower levels of loneliness (Hawkley et al., 2008; Pinquart & Sorenson, 2003).”
Identifying Living Arrangements That Heighten Risk for Loneliness in Later Life (2011, background): “Use of a relatively large population sample of older adults allows for considering less common, but still important, living arrangements and also allows for statistically controlling for sociodemographic factors that are likely to be associated with both living arrangements and loneliness, such as a”
A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Sleep Problems and Loneliness (2020, background): “, loneliness) rather than objective social isolation because perceived isolation is considered to be uniquely associated with adverse outcomes ( J. T. Cacioppo, Hawkley, Berntson, et al., 2002; Hawkley et al., 2008; Hawkley et al., 2010).”
A Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Reduce Loneliness (2010, background): “Factors negatively associated with loneliness included social network size, satisfaction with social network, and having a spousal confidant (Hawkley et al., 2008).”