Solitude, loneliness and social exclusion in older age
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | De Singly in his work depicts the difference between solitude, a productive and positive state of being that forms a necessary part in personal development, and loneliness, a negative feeling of being lonely or having unsatisfactory social ties. Current European and US societies are facing what is in popular discourse called “the loneliness epidemic”, striking mostly the oldest and youngest cohorts, having a tremendous impact on people´s health and well-being. In our paper, we will explore the subjective dimensions of loneliness in relation to social exclusion, having in mind their non-linear and complex relationship in daily life. Embedded in the constructionist grounded theory approach, we analyze data from 10 qualitative interviews with older adults living in the Czech Republic, focusing on the loneliness as highly contextualized issue. We closely explore the relationship between biographical events, the intensity of social relations in later life within and beyond the nuclear family and the subjective feelings of loneliness and solitude. We argue that various dimensions of loneliness must be taken into account as people deal with its impacts both on situational (feeling of loneliness of one person vary in different spatial, temporal and social contexts) as well as long-term basis (when loneliness is linked e.g. to social marginalization), seeking for positive, supportive aspects of solitude as well as for negative experiences of loneliness. Our paper is based on preliminary results from the GENPATH project “A life course perspective on the GENdered PATHways of Social exclusion in later life, and its consequences for health and wellbeing”. |
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