The Impact of Structural and Functional Social Resources on Loneliness Among Americans Age 50 Years and Older

Social isolation and loneliness have many negative consequences (e.g., Cacioppo et al., 2006; Griffin et al., 2018; Uchino, 2006), especially among older adults (Perissinotto et al., 2012). According to the cognitive discrepancy theory (CDT), loneliness is the negative psychological state resulting from the perceived discrepancy between one’s desired level of social resources and one’s actual level of social resources (Peplau & Perlman, 1982; Perlman & Peplau, 1998). Social resources have both structural (e.g., objective) and functional (e.g., perceptions of the quality) aspects (Holt-Lunstad, 2017). The relationship between structural and functional social resources has been described as a filtration process in which functional aspects mediate the association between structural aspects and loneliness (Cacioppo et al., 2016; Hawkley et al., 2008, Hawkley & Kocherginsky, 2018). However, this filtration model has not been empirically tested within the CDT. This study examined the relationship among structural social resources (SSR), functional social resources (FSR), and loneliness cross-sectionally and longitudinally using a sample of 3,345 Americans aged 50 years and older from the 2008 and 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Results showed that there was a significant indirect effect both cross-sectionally (β = -.07) and longitudinally (β = -.06) such that FSR mediated the relationship between SSR and loneliness. Ultimately, the CDT is useful in explaining the complex relationship between structural and functional aspects of one’s social resources with loneliness, and interventions may seek to target the functional aspects of one’s social network to improve loneliness, rather than focusing solely on structural aspects.

Protective and Exacerbating Cognition and Attribution Factors From the Cognitive Discrepancy Theory of Loneliness

According to the cognitive discrepancy theory, although the discrepancy between actual and desired social resources may result in loneliness, Perlman and Peplau (1998) suggested that cognitive processing and attributional style also impact the interpretation of social information. Previous empirical research investigating predictors of loneliness have not assessed a wide range of cognition and attribution factors, so this study filled this gap by examining how protective (optimism, sense of mastery, and purpose in life) and exacerbating (depression, control constraints, negative self-perceptions of aging (SPA), and experiences of age-based discrimination) factors influence and moderate the experience of loneliness cross-sectionally and longitudinally using a sample of 3,345 Americans aged 50 years and older from the 2008 and 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Optimism (βs = -.15, -.13), mastery (βs = -.08, -.07), purpose in life (βs = -.19, -.18), depression (βs = .22,.14), control constraints (βs = .18, .17), negative SPA (βs = .13, .14), and experiences of ageism (βs = .07, .06) were significantly related to loneliness cross-sectionally and longitudinally, respectively. Optimism buffered the negative impact of poor functional social resources (e.g., low social support) on loneliness cross-sectionally while control constraints, negative SPA, and experiencing ageism exacerbated the relationship between low functional social resources and loneliness cross-sectionally. None of the protective or exacerbating factors modulated the relationship between functional social resources and loneliness longitudinally. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions that target loneliness. Targeting maladaptive cognitions may be particularly effective in reducing loneliness.

Correlates of the discrepancy between objective and subjective cognitive functioning in non-demented patients with Parkinson’s disease

Background Subjective complaints of cognitive deficits are not necessarily consistent with objective evidence of cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here we examined the factors associated with the objective-subjective cognitive discrepancy. Methods We consecutively enrolled 90 non-demented patients with PD who completed the Parkinson’s Disease Cognitive Functional Rating Scale (subjective cognitive measure) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; objective cognitive measure). The patients were classified as “Overestimators”, “Accurate estimators”, and “Underestimators” on the basis of the discrepancy between the objective vs. subjective cognitive measures. To identify the factors distinguishing these groups from each other, we used chi-square tests or one-way analyses of variance, completed by logistic and linear regression analyses. Results Forty-nine patients (54.45%) were classified as “Accurate estimators”, 29 (32.22%) as “Underestimators”, and 12 (13.33%) as “Overestimators”. Relative to the other groups, the “Underestimators” scored higher on the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Parkinson Anxiety Scale (p < 0.01). Logistic regression confirmed that FSS and BDI scores distinguished the “Underestimators” group from the others (p < 0.05). Linear regression analyses also indicated that FSS and BDI scores positively related to objective-subjective cognitive discrepancy (p < 0.01). “Overestimators” scored lower than other groups on the MoCA’s total score and attention and working memory subscores (p < 0.01). Conclusion In more than 45% of consecutive non-demented patients with PD, we found a ‘mismatch’ between objective and subjective measures of cognitive functioning. Such discrepancy, which was related to the presence of fatigue and depressive symptoms and frontal executive impairments, should be carefully evaluated in clinical setting.

A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis of the Relationship Between Loneliness and Depression

Loneliness and depression have similar psychological features but are theoretically and statistically distinct (Hawkley et al., 2008). Most research has examined a unidirectional relationship between loneliness and depression (Cacioppo et al., 2006). Cacioppo et al. (2010), however, found that loneliness predicted subsequent depression, but depression did not predict subsequent loneliness. We extended this work by examining the reciprocal relationship between loneliness and depression in 1,560 healthy adults (ages ranging from 18-95 years at baseline) from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project using cross-lagged panel analysis across three time points. Depression more strongly predicted subsequent loneliness (βs= 0.16 and 0.23, p &lt; .05) than vice versa. These findings are consistent with the cognitive discrepancy theory, suggesting that affective processing, like depression, can negatively impact one’s perception of their social environment (Burholt & Scharf, 2014). Our findings highlight the need for increased longitudinal research examining the relationships among indices of well-being across adulthood.