Family characteristics and loneliness among older parents

Loneliness among older people is an intriguing issue in aging research, pol­ icy, and practice. Many disciplinary perspectives and approaches have been used in an attempt to understand and explain well-being and loneli­ ness among older adults. Dykstra (1990), with reference to House and Kahn (1985), found three approaches in the study of the association between types of relationships and well-being with loneliness as a component of an overall measure of well-being: (a) the social integration approach, (b) the social network approach, and (c) the social support approach. In the social integration approach the focus is on the existence of relationships such as marital relationship, availability of family members or friends, and mem­ berships in church or volunteer associations. Researchers in the social net­ work tradition examine the structure of the relationships in which individuals are embedded. Their hypothesis is that the structure and com­ position of the network have an impact on the pattern of interactions and flow of resources within the network with consequences on well-being. Within the social support approach, researchers focus on what is provided to an individual by others (i.e., emotional or instrumental support) and how this is appreciated. Each of these traditional approaches has been pro­ ductive in understanding well-being and loneliness among older people (Dykstra, 1990; de Jong Gierveld and Tilburg, 1995).