CV NEWS FEED // The American Psychologist Association (APA) recently published a study revealing that middle-aged Americans are experiencing loneliness at higher rates than their European peers.
Psychology professor Frank Infurna is the main author of the APA-published study titled, “Loneliness in Midlife: Historical Increases and Elevated Levels in the United States Compared With Europe.”
In recent years, loneliness has gained international attention “as a public health issue” that “is linked to increased risk for depression, compromised immunity, chronic illness, and mortality,” Infurna wrote.
The study found that for middle-aged Americans, this public health issue is especially prominent when compared to their European peers, and perhaps explains the difference in life expectancy rates in the various countries as well.
The 13 European countries included in the study are: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and Israel. The age range of the adults in the study was 40 to 65 years old.
According to the study, life expectancy in the United States has declined by three years, whereas in the listed European countries, the life expectancy rates have increased. Along with impacting physical health, loneliness also negatively impacts mental health. The study noted that within the past ten years, hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S. have been lost to suicide.
The study found that American participants scored higher rates of loneliness than the European participants. Examining what may cause these higher rates of loneliness in America, Infurna suggested cultural shifts, increased individualization, work-life culture, and weaker social ties may have a role.
One cultural shift that perhaps impacts the loneliness rates is the increased use of social media, the study noted. Additionally, increased political polarization in America also potentially increased loneliness, because of its “implications for social connection by driving people apart as opposed to closer together,” Infurna wrote.
The study also suggested that the weak social and community ties in the United States contributed to increased feelings of isolation.
“Relative to the other nations, the United States has higher rates of residential mobility, which are associated with weak social and community ties,” Infurna wrote:
Changing family and friend relationships could lead to fewer family members to share family stresses and burdens with, in the context of increasing numbers of middle-aged adults taking on caregiving responsibilities for aging parents….
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Another potential impact is differences in work-life balance cultures. Work environments that have more family-minded policies can help reduce “work-family conflict” and related pressures, Infurna wrote. The proposed factors, Infurna wrote, imply that midlife Americans are at a “disadvantage” in combating loneliness compared to their European peers.
