Qualitative study of loneliness in a senior housing community: the importance of wisdom and other coping strategies.

Discussion: Despite living within a communal setting designed to reduce social isolation, many older adults described feeling lonely in stark negative terms, attributing it to aging-associated losses or lack of social skills and abilities. However, interviewees also reported positive personal qualities and actions to prevent or cope with loneliness, several of which mirrored specific components of wisdom. The results support the reported inverse relationship between loneliness and wisdom and suggest a potential role for wisdom-enhancing interventions to reduce and prevent loneliness in older populations. PMID: 31918561 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Aging and Mental Health - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Aging Ment Health Source Type: research