Loneliness in Married, Widowed, Divorced, and Never-Married Older Adults

Abstract

Predictors of loneliness were investigated in married, widowed, divorced, and never-married older adults. Contacts with adult children, siblings, friends, and neighbors showed a stronger negative relationship with loneliness in unmarried than in married adults. However, divorced and widowed adults were more likely to profit from contact with adult children, whereas never-married and childless unmarried respondents profited most from contacts with siblings, friends, and neighbors. A better functional status was associated with less loneliness in divorced, widowed, and nevermarried adults, but not in married adults. Furthermore, unmarried men showed higher levels of loneliness than unmarried women, whereas only small sex differences in loneliness were found in married respondents. Sex differences in the loneliness of divorced and never-married adults were eliminated by controlling for sex differences in contact with children, siblings, and friends. However, widowers were lonelier than widows even after controlling for sex differences in these contacts.