Reducing loneliness among older people – who is responsible?

Abstract

In the Swedish news-press, loneliness among older people is presented as a severe problem that needs to be solved. The issue of who is responsible for reducing loneliness and how this responsibility is designated is, however, rarely discussed. In this study, we have analysed how responsibility is designated and constructed in articles from the Swedish news-press. Focus has been on identifying responsibility in discourses proceeding from the concept of subject positions. This concept has enabled analysis on how responsibility is negotiated and who is positioned as a responsible actor with the ability to perform actions that reduce loneliness. Three dominating discourses were found. In the discourse of responsibility within politics and the welfare state, the responsibility is both self-taken and designated to other institutions held responsible for not initiating sufficient measures to reduce loneliness. In the discourse of responsibility within societal and evolutionary perspectives on loneliness, developments beyond the individual's control are considered to contribute to loneliness. At the same time ‘we’ in ‘society’ are considered capable of reducing loneliness, thereby constructing individuals as responsible actors. Within the discourses of responsibility within senior organisations, both senior organisations and people who participate in activities are constructed as responsible actors. In conclusion, the responsibility for reducing loneliness is, apart from the discourse on senior organisations, designated to those working with older people.

Perspektiv på utsatthet och problem under åldrandet

“…Genom medvetna och omedvetna val av perspektiv influerar nyheterna hur mottagarna tolkar omvärlden och på vilket sätt något anses vara problematiskt (Ågren 2018). Äldres ensamhet diskuteras ofta i media som oacceptabel och någonting som bör lösas (Ågren & Cedersund 2020). Ensamhetens och den psykiska ohälsans yttersta konsekvens för äldre är dock mycket underrapporterad (Au et al 2004;Machlin et al 2013).…”

Older adults’ experiences of being at a senior summer camp—A phenomenographic study

“…They conclude that it is necessary to continue exploring how feelings of loneliness arise and how they can be changed (Ferreira-Alves et al., 2014). Ågren and Cedersund (2018) suggest that loneliness among older people often is discussed from an outsider’s perspective. Hence, there is a need for more research on the experience of loneliness from the point of view of older people themselves.…”

Loneliness among Elderly People: Can Food and Meals Change this Situation?

“…Many different forms of loneliness exist among different groups, and existing literature has discussed a loneliness scale (Smoyak 1984), widows' coping strategies (Gass 1987), leisure time (Chin-Sang and Allen 1991), spousal caregivers (Bergman-Evans 1994), adolescent loneliness (Antognoli-Totland and Beard 1999), and loneliness among elderly immigrant women (Kim 1999). In recent years, research on loneliness has focused on finding predictors of loneliness in the aging population (Cohen-Mansfield et al 2016) such as sociodemographic and health factors (Prieto-Flores et al 2011), reducing loneliness among older people (Agren and Cedersund 2020), and prevalence among older people (Victor et al 2005). Coyle and Dugan (2012) focused on the relationship between social isolation and loneliness among older adults, and Taylor (2020) illuminated how social isolation influences loneliness in the same age group.…”