Dilip V Jeste1,2,3, Salvatore Di Somma4,5, Ellen E Lee1,2,6, Tanya T Nguyen1,2, Mara Scalcione5,7, Alice Biaggi5,7, Rebecca Daly1,2, Jinyuan Liu1,2,8, Xin Tu1,2,8, Douglas Ziedonis1,9, Danielle Glorioso1,2, Paola Antonini10, David Brenner9. 1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. 2. Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. 3. Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. 4. Department of Medical-Surgery Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. 5. Great Network, Rome, Italy. 6. Psychiatry Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA. 7. School of Medicine, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. 8. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. 9. School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. 10. Nouscom s.r.l, Rome, Italy.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: There has been growing research interest in loneliness and wisdom in recent decades, but no cross-cultural comparisons of these constructs using standardized rating measures in older adults, especially the oldest-old. This was a cross-sectional study of loneliness and wisdom comparing middle-aged and oldest-old adults in Cilento, Italy and San Diego, United States. METHOD: We examined loneliness and wisdom, using the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA-3) and San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE), respectively, in four subject groups: adults aged 50-65 and those ≥90 years from Cilento, Italy (N = 212 and 47, respectively) and San Diego, California, USA (N = 138 and 85, respectively). RESULTS: After controlling for education, there were no significant group differences in levels of loneliness, while on SD-WISE the Cilento ≥90 group had lower scores compared to the other three groups. There was a strong inverse correlation between loneliness and wisdom in each of the four subject groups. Loneliness was negatively associated while wisdom was positively associated with general health, sleep quality, and happiness in most groups, with varying levels of significance. CONCLUSION: These results largely support cross-cultural validity of the constructs of loneliness and wisdom, and extend previous findings of strong inverse correlations between these two entities. Loneliness has become a growing public health problem, and the results of our study suggest that wisdom could be a protective factor against loneliness, although alternative explanations are also possible. Research on interventions to reduce loneliness by enhancing wisdom in older adults is needed.
OBJECTIVES: There has been growing research interest in loneliness and wisdom in recent decades, but no cross-cultural comparisons of these constructs using standardized rating measures in older adults, especially the oldest-old. This was a cross-sectional study of loneliness and wisdom comparing middle-aged and oldest-old adults in Cilento, Italy and San Diego, United States. METHOD: We examined loneliness and wisdom, using the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA-3) and San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE), respectively, in four subject groups: adults aged 50-65 and those ≥90 years from Cilento, Italy (N = 212 and 47, respectively) and San Diego, California, USA (N = 138 and 85, respectively). RESULTS: After controlling for education, there were no significant group differences in levels of loneliness, while on SD-WISE the Cilento ≥90 group had lower scores compared to the other three groups. There was a strong inverse correlation between loneliness and wisdom in each of the four subject groups. Loneliness was negatively associated while wisdom was positively associated with general health, sleep quality, and happiness in most groups, with varying levels of significance. CONCLUSION: These results largely support cross-cultural validity of the constructs of loneliness and wisdom, and extend previous findings of strong inverse correlations between these two entities. Loneliness has become a growing public health problem, and the results of our study suggest that wisdom could be a protective factor against loneliness, although alternative explanations are also possible. Research on interventions to reduce loneliness by enhancing wisdom in older adults is needed.
Entities:
Keywords:
compassion; happiness; health; longevity; social isolation
Authors: Tanya T Nguyen; Xinlian Zhang; Tsung-Chin Wu; Jinyuan Liu; Collin Le; Xin M Tu; Rob Knight; Dilip V Jeste Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2021-03-25 Impact factor: 4.157
Authors: Dilip V Jeste; Michael L Thomas; Jinyuan Liu; Rebecca E Daly; Xin M Tu; Emily B H Treichler; Barton W Palmer; Ellen E Lee Journal: J Psychiatr Res Date: 2020-09-30 Impact factor: 4.791
Authors: Ellen E Lee; Tushara Govind; Marina Ramsey; Tsung Chin Wu; Rebecca Daly; Jinyuan Liu; Xin M Tu; Martin P Paulus; Michael L Thomas; Dilip V Jeste Journal: Transl Psychiatry Date: 2021-07-13 Impact factor: 6.222
Authors: Masood A Badri; Mugheer A Alkhaili; Hamad Aldhaheri; Guang Yang; Muna Albahar; Asma Alrashdi; Bushra Almulla; Layla Alhyas Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-20 Impact factor: 3.390