Combating loneliness: a friendship enrichment programme for older women

Abstract

Research indicates that friendship contributes to wellbeing in later life in various ways : through the provision of companionship in daily life, support during stressful transitions, sustainment of identity under changing circumstances and adaptation to old age. However not all older people have friends available who fulfil these different functions. In order to promote wellbeing and reduce loneliness, an educational programme on friendship enrichment for older women has been developed and implemented in the Netherlands. The friendship programme's main goal is empowerment ; it helps women clarify their needs in friendship, analyse their current social network, set goals in friendship and develop strategies to achieve goals. Reduction of loneliness, when present, is also an important goal of the programme. A study that followed  participants during the year after the programme demonstrates that a majority succeeded in developing new, or improving existing, friendships and in significantly reducing their loneliness. They also reported changes related to the self and social behaviour. Limitations of the research design, reflection on the feasibility of reducing loneliness through a single type of intervention, and possible applications of the programme's design to other areas, are presented in the discussion.

Preparing for aging: Development, feasibility and preliminary results of an educational program for midlife and older based on proactive coping theory

“…Our approach differs from existing educational interventions for the elderly which are either more reactive in their approach and/or focus on specific types of problems the elderly may already experience; for example, reducing loneliness, depression and physical limitations (e.g. [9,10]), improving physical activation and mobility of sedentary older adults or addressing risk behaviours such as high risk driving, decreasing communication skills, overweight and poor nutrition (e.g. [11][12][13]).…”

Qualidade de vida e bem-estar dos idosos: um estudo exploratório na população portuguesa

“…As teorias do envelhecimento bem sucedido 18 vêem o sujeito como pro-activo, regulando a sua qualidade de vida através da definição de objectivos e lutando para os alcançar, acumulando recursos que são úteis na adaptação à mudança e activamente envolvidos na manutenção do bem-estar. Sendo assim, um envelhecimento bem sucedido é acompanhado de qualidade de vida e bem estar e deve ser fomentado ao longo dos estados anteriores de desenvolvimento.…”

Breaking the cycle of loneliness? Psychological effects of a friendship enrichment program for older women

“…In later life, loneliness may be triggered by transitions such as retirement, the death of the partner or close friends, relocation, or chronic health problems (Peplau & Perlman, 1982;Pinquart & Sörensen, 2001). A variety of interventions designed to reduce or prevent loneliness among older people were developed during the last two decades (Andersson, 1985;Heller, Thompson, Trueba, Hogg, & Vlachos-weber, 1991;Van Lammeren & Geelen, 1995;Stevens, 2001). However, studies on the effectiveness of these interventions are scarce in gerontological literature, and when they are available the results are not always conclusive (Cattan & White, 1998;Cattan, White, Bond, & Learmouth, 2005;Findlay, 2003).…”

“…An educational program on friendship for older women, which was developed in 1994-1995 at the Centre for Psychogerontology at the University of Nijmegen, also emphasizes the importance of friendship when striving to combat loneliness (Stevens & Van Tilburg, 2000;Stevens, 2001). This intervention focuses on older women due to a number of disadvantages that they experience in later life.…”