We base all of our campaigning on the growing research evidence on loneliness.
In 2011 we founded the Research and Policy Hub – an international network of university academics, other researchers and practitioners working to increase and develop the evidence base on the issue of loneliness in older age – that informs so much of our work.
This page provides a summary of the latest thinking and research on loneliness.
How can you measure loneliness?
Loneliness is a subjective feeling, and can be difficult to measure.
The ONS has also created a guide which describes the measures included in the national indicator which was recommended by the UK Government’s Loneliness Strategy. The measures used are the UCLA three item scale and the single item question ‘How often do you feel lonely’. [1]
In total , 45% of adults feel occasionally, sometimes or often lonely in England. This equates to over twenty five million people [1]
5.0% of people in Great Britain (2.6 million adults) reported that they felt lonely “often” or “always” between 3 April and 3 May 2020, about the same proportion as pre-lockdown.[2]
Demographic trends in the UK mean the number of over 50s suffering from loneliness is set to reach two million by 2025/6. This compares to around 1.4 million in 2016/7 – a 49% increase in 10 years [3]
In 2016 to 2017, there were 5% of adults (aged 16 years and over) in England reporting feeling lonely “often/always” – that’s 1 in 20 adults. Furthermore, 16% of adults reported feeling lonely sometimes and 24% occasionally [4]
Characteristics of people who are more likely to experience loneliness include: those who are widowed, those with poorer health and those with long-term illness or disability. 43.45% of the group reporting bad or very bad health are often/always lonely [5]
Loneliness demonstrates a U-shaped distribution, with those aged under 25 years and those aged over 65 demonstrating the highest levels of loneliness [6]
A lack of social connections has been linked to cardiovascular health risks and increased death rates, blood pressure, depression and risk of dementia.
Consistently, academic reviews conclude that there is not enough good evidence to prove which interventions work best. This is largely because the studies are small scale and short term, but it does not mean that interventions do not work.
For instance, Victor et al (2019) conducted a review of loneliness interventions for the What Works for Wellbeing Centre and found 14 relevant reviews and 14 relevant studies from grey literature.
The main findings of the What Works for Wellbeing Centre report conclude that while it is unclear what approaches are most effective in reducing loneliness, there were several mechanisms for reducing loneliness that were identified. They include:
Tailoring interventions to the needs of people for whom they are designed
Developing approaches which avoid stigma or reinforce isolation
Supporting meaningful relationships
Across all studies it showed that targeting programmes was useful because it offered a safe space for people to socialise in new settings. Also promising was the involvement of individuals in neighbourhood projects where reconnecting with people was a benefit, primarily though social groups and activities. These were the most successful mechanisms for helping older people make new connections.
It was produced to fill the gap between what constitutes a ‘loneliness intervention’ as described in the academic literature, and what its’s actually like to deliver them.
Experts from a range of disciplines were asked about promising interventions and these were then considered in light of available evidence. It identified three main categories of intervention:
Services to support and maintain existing relationships
Services to foster and enable new connections
Services to help people change their unhelpful thinking and beliefs about their social connections.
Examples and lessons from people delivering these types of interventions is available in the guide.
An updated version of Promising Approaches will be available later in October 2020.
[6] Victor, C.R. and Yang, K., 2012. The prevalence of loneliness among adults: a case study of the United Kingdom. The Journal of psychology, 146(1-2), pp.85-104
