Loneliness is an indicator of social well-being and pertains to the feeling of missing an intimate relationship (emotional loneliness) or missing a wider social network (social loneliness). The 11-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale has proved to be a valid and reliable measurement instrument for overall, emotional, and social loneliness, although its length has sometimes rendered it difficult to use in large surveys. In this study, the authors empirically tested a shortened version of the scale on data from two surveys ( N = 9,448). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the specification of two latent factors. Congruent validity and the relationship with determinants (partner status, health) proved to be optimal. The 6-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale is a reliable and valid measurement instrument for overall, emotional, and social loneliness that is suitable for large surveys.

Loneliness concerns the subjective evaluation of the situation individuals are involved in, characterized either by a number of relationships with friends and colleagues which is smaller than is considered desirable (social loneliness), as well as situations where the intimacy in confidant relationships one wishes for has not been realized (emotional loneliness). To identify people who are lonely direct questions are not sufficient; loneliness scales are preferred. In this article, the quality of the three-item scale for emotional loneliness and the three-item scale for social loneliness has been investigated for use in the following countries participating in the United Nations “Generations and Gender Surveys”: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Japan. Sample sizes for the 7 countries varied between 8,158 and 12,828. Translations of the De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale have been tested using reliability and validity tests including a confirmatory factor analysis to test the two-dimensional structure of loneliness. Test outcomes indicated for each of the countries under investigation reliable and valid scales for emotional and social loneliness, respectively.

Loneliness concerns the subjective evaluation that the number of relationships is smaller than the individual considers desirable or that the intimacy that the individual wishes for has not been realized. The aim of this study was to assess variations in levels of late-life loneliness and its determinants across Europe. Data came from the SHARE surveys, Wave 2 (Borsch-Supan et al., 2008), encompassing adults aged 50 years and over in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland (N = 12,248). Loneliness was measured by a single item derived from the CES-D (depression) scale. Using logistic models, the present authors tested several types of explanations for country differences: differences in demographic characteristics, wealth and health, and social networks. Older adults in the southern and central European countries were generally lonelier than their peers in the northern and western European countries. In the southern and central European countries, loneliness was largely attributable to not being married, economic deprivation, and poor health. Frequent contacts with parents and adult children, social participation, and providing support to family members were important in preventing and alleviating loneliness in almost all countries. To combat loneliness among older adults, the findings suggest both (a) generic approaches aimed at improving social embeddedness and (b) country-tailored approaches aimed at improving health and wealth.

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Dans cette étude, l'auteur développe la théorie émise par Weiss en 1973 sur les sources de la solitude affective et sociale; il étudie les gratifications asymétriques tirées du mariage, les conflits de loyauté liés au remariage et le choix d'un conjoint, pour comprendre les différences qui existent entre les femmes et les hommes face à la solitude dans le mariage et hors du mariage. Il examine les premiers mariages et remariages, ainsi que les perturbations matrimoniales et le célibat. Les données (N = 3737) sont tirées d'un sondage effectué aux Pays-Bas en 1992 sur les conditions de logement et les réseaux sociaux des aînés (NESTOR-LSN). Les antécédents conjugaux influent non seulement sur la solitude affective, mais aussi (au contraire de ce qu'indiquent les conceptualisations théoriques de Weiss) sur la solitude sociale. Les antécédents conjugaux influent davantage sur la solitude affective et sociale des hommes que des femmes. Être marié semble plus essentiel au bien-être affectif des hommes et joue un rôle central dans leurs rapports avec les autres. Les antécédents conjugaux expliquent le mieux les différences notées chez les hommes face à la solitude affective, et l'intégration sociale les différences relevées chez les femmes sur ce plan. Il semblerait que les hommes soient plus enclins à trouver un attachement intime dans le mariage, et que les femmes se protègent de la solitude affective en entretenant des liens étroits avec d'autres personnes. L'impact des antécédents conjugaux face à la solitude sociale dépendent pour une large part de l'intégration sociale, et s'expriment, en partie, de façon différente chez les hommes et chez les femmes. La sociabilité des hommes consiste à participer à des activités en dehors du foyer, tandis que celle des femmes passe davantage par leur rôle de mère. ABSTRACTIn this study, Weiss's (1973) theorizing about the sources of emotional and social loneliness is elaborated -with notions about the asymmetric gratifications derived from marriage, about the conflicting loyalties that result from remarriage, and about selection into marriage -in order to reach an understanding of gender differences in loneliness, both in and outside of marriage. First and subsequent marriages are considered, as well as marital disruptions and never marrying. The data (N = 3737) are from the 1992 Dutch survey on older adults' living arrangements and social networks (NESTOR-LSN). Marital-history differences emerge, not only for emotional loneliness, but also (and contrary to Weiss's theoretical conceptualizations) for social loneliness. The marital-history differences in emotional and social loneliness are greater among men than women. For men, the marriage bond appears not only to be more central to emotional well-being than is the case for women but also to play a pivotal role in their involvement with others. Marital history offers the best explanation for differences in emotional loneliness among men, but social embeddedness characteristics also account for differences in emotional loneliness...