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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Matthew Prina
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2022. Loneliness is an experience resulting from a perceived discrepancy between expected and actual social relationships. Although this discrepancy is widely considered the “core mechanism” of loneliness, previous research and interventions have not sufficiently addressed what older adults specifically expect from their social relationships. To address this gap and to help situate research on older adults’ loneliness within broader life span developmental theories, we propose a theoretical framework that outlines six key social relationship expectations of older adults based on research from psychology, gerontology, and anthropology: availability of social contacts, receiving care and support, intimacy and understanding, enjoyment and shared interests, generativity and contribution, and being respected and valued. We further argue that a complete understanding of loneliness across the life span requires attention to the powerful impacts of contextual factors (e.g., culture, functional limitations, social network changes) on the expression and fulfillment of older adults’ universal and age-specific relationship expectations. The proposed Social Relationship Expectations Framework may fruitfully inform future loneliness research and interventions for a heterogeneous aging population.
Author(s): Akhter-Khan SC, Prina M, Wong GH-Y, Mayston R, Li L
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Perspectives on Psychological Science
Year: 2023
Volume: 18
Issue: 4
Pages: 762-777
Print publication date: 01/07/2023
Online publication date: 02/11/2022
Acceptance date: 02/04/2018
Date deposited: 22/06/2023
ISSN (print): 1745-6916
ISSN (electronic): 1745-6924
Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221127218
DOI: 10.1177/17456916221127218
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