Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

The Individual ◽

Area Classification ◽

The Relationship ◽

Abstract Background: Loneliness in later life is largely presented as a problem of the individual focusing upon antecedents such as demographic or health factors. Research examining the role of the broader living environments is much rarer. We examined the relationship between loneliness and three dimensions of the lived environment: geographical region, deprivation, and area classification (urban or rural).Methods: Our sample consisted of 4,663 core members (44% males) aged 50+ (wave 7 mean age 72.8, S.D.= 7.1) present both in waves 3 (2006) and 7 (2014) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Loneliness was measured using two approaches, individual and area-based, and both waves included these questions. Individual-based (self-reported) loneliness was assessed using the three item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) scale (ranging from 3 =not lonely to 9= lonely with a score of 6+ defining loneliness. We also used a novel question which asked participants to evaluate how often they felt lonely in their area of residence (area-based; ranging from 1=often to 7=never, using cut off 4+ to define loneliness). The lived environment was classified in three different ways: the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Government Office Regions (GOR), and area classification (urban or rural). Covariates with established relationship with loneliness including demographic factors, social engagement and health, were included in the analyses. Results: In wave 7, the prevalence of individual-based loneliness was 18% and area-based was 25%. There was limited congruence between measures: 68% participants reported no individual- or area-based loneliness and 9% reported loneliness for both measures. After adjusting for individual co-variates only one significant relationship was observed between loneliness and area -based characteristics. A significant association was observed between area-based loneliness and deprivation score, with higher levels of loneliness in more deprived areas (OR=1.4 for highest quintile of deprivation). Conclusions: Our results indicate that loneliness in older adults is higher in the most deprived areas independent of individual-level factors. In order to develop appropriate interventions further research is required to investigate how area-level factors combine with individual-level loneliness vulnerability measures to generate increased levels of loneliness in deprived areas.

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

10.21203/rs.2.14946/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Christina R Victor ◽

Jitka Pikhartova

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Later Life ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Individual ◽

Area Classification ◽

The Relationship ◽

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

10.21203/rs.2.14946/v2 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Christina R Victor ◽

Jitka Pikhartova

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Later Life ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Individual ◽

Area Classification ◽

The Relationship ◽

Abstract Background: Loneliness in later life is largely presented as a problem of the individual focusing upon antecedents such as demographic or health factors. Research examining the role of the broader living environments is much rarer. We examined the relationship between loneliness and three dimensions of the lived environment: geographical region, deprivation, and area classification (urban or rural). Methods: Our sample consisted of 4,663 core members (44% males) aged 50+ (wave 7 mean age 72.8, S.D.= 7.1) present both in waves 3 (2006) and 7 (2014) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Loneliness was measured using two approaches, individual and area-based, and both waves included these questions. Individual-based (self-reported) loneliness was assessed using the three item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) scale (ranging from 3 =not lonely to 9= lonely with a score of 6+ defining loneliness. We also used a novel question which asked participants to evaluate how often they felt lonely in their area of residence (area-based; ranging from 1=often to 7=never, using cut off 4+ to define loneliness). The lived environment was classified in three different ways: the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Government Office Regions (GOR), and area classification (urban or rural). Covariates with established relationship with loneliness including demographic factors, social engagement and health, were included in the analyses. Results: In wave 7, the prevalence of individual-based loneliness was 18% and area-based was 25%. There was limited congruence between measures: 68% participants reported no individual- or area-based loneliness and 9% reported loneliness for both measures. After adjusting for individual co-variates only one significant relationship was observed between loneliness and area -based characteristics. A significant association was observed between area-based loneliness and deprivation score, with higher levels of loneliness in more deprived areas (OR=1.4 for highest quintile of deprivation). Conclusions: Our results indicate that loneliness in older adults is higher in the most deprived areas independent of individual-level factors. In order to develop appropriate interventions further research is required to investigate how area-level factors combine with individual-level loneliness vulnerability measures to generate increased levels of loneliness in deprived areas.

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

10.21203/rs.2.14946/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Christina R Victor ◽

Jitka Pikhartova

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Later Life ◽

Individual Level ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

The Individual ◽

Area Classification ◽

The Relationship ◽

Abstract Background: Loneliness in later life is largely presented as a problem of the individual focusing upon antecedents of loneliness such as demographic or health factors. Research examining the role of the broader living environments is rarer. We examined the relationship between loneliness and three elements of the lived environment: geographical region, deprivation, and area classification (urban or rural). Methods: Our sample consisted of 4,663 core members (44% males) aged 50+ (base wave mean age 65.5, S.D=.7.9) present in waves 3 (2008) and 7 (2014) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) which both included questions about individual-based and area-based loneliness. Loneliness was measured using two approaches- the three item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) scale (ranging from 3 =not lonely to 9= lonely and using cut off at level 6+ marking loneliness) which assessed individual-based (self-reported) loneliness, and a novel self-rated evaluation by participants of how often they felt lonely in their area of residence (area-based; ranging from 1=often to 7=never, using cut off 4+). The lived environment was classified in three different ways: the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Government Office Regions (GOR), and as urban or rural. Covariates with established relationship with loneliness including demographic factors, social engagement and health, were included in the analyses. Results: In wave 7, individual-based loneliness was reported by 18% and area-based loneliness by 25% of participants. There was limited congruence between measures: 68% participants reported no individual- or area-based loneliness and 9% reported loneliness in both areas. Adjusting for individual co-variates, a significant association was observed only for the association between area-based loneliness and deprivation measure area characteristic, with higher levels of loneliness in more deprived areas (OR=1.4 for highest quintile of deprivation). No other significant relationships were observed regarding other types of area characteristics. Conclusions: Our results indicate that loneliness in older adults is higher in the most deprived areas independent of individual-level factors. In order to develop appropriate interventions further research is required to investigate how area-level factors combine with individual-level loneliness vulnerability measures to generate increased levels of loneliness in deprived areas.

Do empowered employees absorb knowledge?

Management Research Review ◽

10.1108/mrr-07-2012-0166 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 130-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Evangelia Siachou ◽

Panagiotis Gkorezis

Keyword(s):

Geographical Area ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Content Type ◽

Individual Level ◽

Manufacturing Organizations ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact ◽

Purpose – The present study aims to contribute to the limited empirical research regarding the individual level antecedents of absorptive capacity (AC). In this vein, the authors examined the impact of employees' psychological empowerment (PE) dimensions on their AC. Moreover, the authors explored the magnitude of the relationship between one of PE four dimensions, namely competence, and AC compared to that of the rest three dimensions of PE. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected data from 100 private employees working in two manufacturing organizations. In order to investigate the hypotheses, the authors conducted hierarchical regression and usefulness analysis. Findings – As predicted, the present results showed that all four PE dimensions affected employees' AC. Furthermore, competence demonstrated the strongest impact among all PE dimensions. Research limitations/implications – Data were drawn from two manufacturing organizations located in specific geographical area. Thus, this may constrain the generalizability of the results. Also, the cross-sectional analysis of the data cannot directly assess causality. Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study examining the relationship between PE and AC.

Similarities in Human Visual and Declared Measures of Preference for Opposite-Sex Faces

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000248 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 301-309 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jack A. F. Griffey ◽

Anthony C. Little

Keyword(s):

Population Level ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Individual Level ◽

Facial Stimuli ◽

Visual Preferences ◽

Opposite Sex ◽

The Individual ◽

Negative Factors ◽

Facial appearance in humans is associated with attraction and mate choice. Numerous studies have identified that adults display directional preferences for certain facial traits including symmetry, averageness, and sexually dimorphic traits. Typically, studies measuring human preference for these traits examine declared (e.g., choice or ratings of attractiveness) or visual preferences (e.g., looking time) of participants. However, the extent to which visual and declared preferences correspond remains relatively untested. In order to evaluate the relationship between these measures we examined visual and declared preferences displayed by men and women for opposite-sex faces manipulated across three dimensions (symmetry, averageness, and masculinity) and compared preferences from each method. Results indicated that participants displayed significant visual and declared preferences for symmetrical, average, and appropriately sexually dimorphic faces. We also found that declared and visual preferences correlated weakly but significantly. These data indicate that visual and declared preferences for manipulated facial stimuli produce similar directional preferences across participants and are also correlated with one another within participants. Both methods therefore may be considered appropriate to measure human preferences. However, while both methods appear likely to generate similar patterns of preference at the sample level, the weak nature of the correlation between visual and declared preferences in our data suggests some caution in assuming visual preferences are the same as declared preferences at the individual level. Because there are positive and negative factors in both methods for measuring preference, we suggest that a combined approach is most useful in outlining population level preferences for traits.

The unheard voice and the unseen shadow

10.22501/nmh-ar.621671 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jeremy Cox

Keyword(s):

Later Life ◽

Federico Garcia Lorca ◽

Francis Poulenc ◽

Intensive Phase ◽

Internal Conflicts ◽

Violin Sonata ◽

Guillaume Apollinaire ◽

Natural Tendency ◽

The Individual ◽

The French composer Francis Poulenc had a profound admiration and empathy for the writings of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. That empathy was rooted in shared aspects of the artistic temperament of the two figures but was also undoubtedly reinforced by Poulenc’s fellow-feeling on a human level. As someone who wrestled with his own homosexuality and who kept his orientation and his relationships apart from his public persona, Poulenc would have felt an instinctive affinity for a figure who endured similar internal conflicts but who, especially in his later life and poetry, was more open about his sexuality. Lorca paid a heavy price for this refusal to dissimulate; his arrest in August 1936 and his assassination the following day, probably by Nationalist militia, was accompanied by taunts from his killers about his sexuality. Everything about the Spanish poet’s life, his artistic affinities, his personal predilections and even the relationship between these and his death made him someone to whom Poulenc would be naturally drawn and whose untimely demise he would feel keenly and might wish to commemorate musically. Starting with the death of both his parents while he was still in his teens, reinforced by the sudden loss in 1930 of an especially close friend, confidante and kindred spirit, and continuing throughout the remainder of his life with the periodic loss of close friends, companions and fellow-artists, Poulenc’s life was marked by a succession of bereavements. Significantly, many of the dedications that head up his compositions are ‘to the memory of’ the individual named. As Poulenc grew older, and the list of those whom he had outlived lengthened inexorably, his natural tendency towards the nostalgic and the elegiac fused with a growing sense of what might be termed a ‘survivor’s anguish’, part of which he sublimated into his musical works. It should therefore come as no surprise that, during the 1940s, and in fulfilment of a desire that he had felt since the poet’s death, he should turn to Lorca for inspiration and, in the process, attempt his own act of homage in two separate works: the Violin Sonata and the ‘Trois Chansons de Federico García Lorca’. This exposition attempts to unfold aspects of the two men’s aesthetic pre-occupations and to show how the parallels uncovered cast reciprocal light upon their respective approaches to the creative process. It also examines the network of enfolded associations, musical and autobiographical, which link Poulenc’s two compositions commemorating Lorca, not only to one another but also to a wider circle of the composer’s works, especially his cycle setting poems of Guillaume Apollinaire: ‘Calligrammes’. Composed a year after the ‘Trois Chansons de Federico García Lorca’, this intricately wrought collection of seven mélodies, which Poulenc saw as the culmination of an intensive phase in his activity in this genre, revisits some of ‘unheard voices’ and ‘unseen shadows’ enfolded in its predecessor. It may be viewed, in part, as an attempt to bring to fuller resolution the veiled but keenly-felt anguish invoked by these paradoxical properties.

THE NEED FOR INFORMATION AND THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AS FACTORS OF CRITICAL AND UNCRITICAL DISSEMINATION OF PANDEMIC NEWS

Moscow University Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.11621/vsp.2021.01.07 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 170-195

Author(s):

Elena I. Rasskazova ◽

Galina V. Soldatova ◽

Yulia Y. Neyaskina ◽

Olga S. Shiriaeva

Keyword(s):

Subjective Experience ◽

New Technologies ◽

Modern Society ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Subjective Experiences ◽

Individual Level ◽

Related Information ◽

Digital World ◽

The Individual ◽

Relevance. The modern society creates the image of a successful person as actively interacting with different information flows, including an impressive stream of news content. This paper assumes that there is a personal need for tracking and spreading news that develops in the interaction between person and digital world. The individual level of this need could explain the interaction with information (its critical and uncritical dissemination) and the subjective experience of its redundancy and inaccuracy, including those experiences and actions in a pandemic situation. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship of the subjective need for news with personal values, beliefs about technologies (“technophilia”) and the dissemination of news about the pandemic. Method. 270 people (aged 18 to 61) filled out The short (Schwartz) Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ), Beliefs about New Technologies Questionnaire, Monitoring of Information about Coronavirus Scale as well as items on the subjective need for receiving and disseminating news, readiness for critical and non-critical dissemination of news about pandemics, subjective experiences of redundancy and distrust of pandemic-related information. Results. According to the results, the Need for News Scale allows assessing the subjective importance of receiving news and discussing them with other people and is characterized by sufficient consistency and factor validity. The need for regular news is more pronounced among men, older people, people with higher education, married people, people who have children, while the need to discuss news is not related to sociodemographic factors. For people, who are more prone to technophilia, it is more important to regularly receive and discuss news information with others, which, in turn, mediates the relationship between technophilia and monitoring news about coronavirus. The need for news dissemination mediates the relationship between technophilia and readiness for critical and non-critical dissemination of information about the pandemic.

Do facial first impressions reflect a shared social reality?

10.31234/osf.io/um57j ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Clare Sutherland ◽

Gillian Rhodes ◽

Nichola Burton ◽

Andrew Young

Keyword(s):

Case Series ◽

Social Reality ◽

Observer Agreement ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

First Impressions ◽

Dimensional Approach ◽

Individual Level ◽

Common Structure ◽

The Stability ◽

The Individual

Influential facial impression models have repeatedly shown that trustworthiness, youthful-attractiveness and dominance dimensions subserve a wide variety of first impressions formed from strangers’ faces, suggestive of a shared social reality. However, these models are built from impressions aggregated across observers. Critically, recent work has now shown that inter-observer agreement in facial impressions is less than perfect, raising the important question of whether these dimensional models are meaningful at the individual-observer level. We addressed this question using a novel case series approach, building individual models of facial impressions for different observers. Strikingly, three dimensions of trustworthiness, youthful/attractiveness and competence/dominance appeared across the majority of individual observer models, demonstrating that the dimensional approach is indeed meaningful at the individual level. Nonetheless, we also found striking differences in the stability of the competence/dominance dimension across observers. Taken together, results suggest that individual differences in impressions arise in the context of a largely common structure that supports a shared social reality.

Frankly, We Do Give a Damn

Social Psychological and Personality Science ◽

10.1177/1948550616681055 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 816-826 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Gilad Feldman ◽

Huiwen Lian ◽

Michal Kosinski ◽

David Stillwell

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Real Life ◽

Linguistic Analysis ◽

The Other ◽

Aggregate Level ◽

Individual Level ◽

Common Causes ◽

The Individual ◽

There are two conflicting perspectives regarding the relationship between profanity and dishonesty. These two forms of norm-violating behavior share common causes and are often considered to be positively related. On the other hand, however, profanity is often used to express one’s genuine feelings and could therefore be negatively related to dishonesty. In three studies, we explored the relationship between profanity and honesty. We examined profanity and honesty first with profanity behavior and lying on a scale in the lab (Study 1; N = 276), then with a linguistic analysis of real-life social interactions on Facebook (Study 2; N = 73,789), and finally with profanity and integrity indexes for the aggregate level of U.S. states (Study 3; N = 50 states). We found a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty; profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level and with higher integrity at the society level.

Risk ratios for contagious outcomes

Journal of The Royal Society Interface ◽

10.1098/rsif.2017.0696 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (138) ◽

pp. 20170696 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Olga Morozova ◽

Ted Cohen ◽

Forrest W. Crawford

Keyword(s):

Small Groups ◽

Risk Ratio ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Infectious Disease Transmission ◽

Individual Level ◽

Susceptibility To Infection ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Individual ◽

The Relationship ◽

Risk Ratios

Epidemiologists commonly use the risk ratio to summarize the relationship between a binary covariate and outcome, even when outcomes may be dependent. Investigations of transmissible diseases in clusters—households, villages or small groups—often report risk ratios. Epidemiologists have warned that risk ratios may be misleading when outcomes are contagious, but the nature of this error is poorly understood. In this study, we assess the meaning of the risk ratio when outcomes are contagious. We provide a mathematical definition of infectious disease transmission within clusters, based on the canonical stochastic susceptible–infective model. From this characterization, we define the individual-level ratio of instantaneous infection risks as the inferential target, and evaluate the properties of the risk ratio as an approximation of this quantity. We exhibit analytically and by simulation the circumstances under which the risk ratio implies an effect whose direction is opposite that of the true effect of the covariate. In particular, the risk ratio can be greater than one even when the covariate reduces both individual-level susceptibility to infection, and transmissibility once infected. We explain these findings in the epidemiologic language of confounding and Simpson's paradox, underscoring the pitfalls of failing to account for transmission when outcomes are contagious.