Old and lonely?

The purpose of the present study was first, to assess the incidence of loneliness among older adults in light of gender, marital status, age and health, and second, to assess the associations between loneliness and a) descriptive characteristics and b) evaluations of the respondents' personal relationships. Interviews were conducted with 461 men and women, aged 65 and over, and living either at home or in institutions. The results show that it is necessary to examine the combined effects of marital status, gender, age and health in order to adequately assess the incidence of loneliness among older individuals. The study also reveals that an evaluation of the quality of personal relationships contributes more to the study of the incidence of loneliness than describing their characteristics.