UArizona researchers examine the relationship between loneliness and being alone

In this study, the researchers used EAR to characterize time spent alone." Feeling lonely is different from being alone, and EAR is an exciting new method for assessing time spent alone, " Sbarra said.Overall, the study participants spent 66% of their time alone, and those who were alone for more than 75% of their time were the ones who felt the most lonely. On analyzing the result from the entire participant pool, there was only a 3% overlap between aloneness and loneliness.Mehl.jpg Matthias MehlIn younger people, aloneness and loneliness are just two different things, Mehl said. They may feel lonely in a crowd, or they may not feel lonely when they are by themselves.The case is different with older adults, Mehl said. In older people, since feeling lonely and being alone are tightly linked, being with others and socializing is the way to combat feelings of loneliness, according to Mehl. The strong relationship between the two was found in adults older than 67, and there was an overlap of about 25% between loneliness and aloneness in older people, he said.  The study involved over 400 participants with archival data collected in a series of studies completed over the last 20 years." For instance, we know if the person is on the phone, if they are driving, watching television or if they are interacting with a partner or a stranger, " Mehl said.Although EAR has many benefits, it is a time-consuming method for researchers to quantify the metrics of social behavior. To avoid ho...
Source: The University of Arizona: Health - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research