Loneliness in the United States: A 2018 National Panel Survey of Demographic, Structural, Cognitive, and Behavioral Characteristics

Thumbnail Image
Date
2019-06-16
Authors
DesHarnais Bruce, Liana
Wu, Joshua
Lustig, Stuart
Nemecek, Douglas
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Person
Russell, Daniel
Professor
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Human Development and Family Studies
Abstract

Purpose: To inform health behavior intervention design, we sought to quantify loneliness and its correlates, including social media use, among adults in the United States. Design: Cross-sectional research panel questionnaire. Setting: Responses were gathered from individuals in all 50 states surveyed via Internet from February 2018 to March 2018. Participants: A total of 20 096 US panel respondents aged 18þ. Measures: The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (theoretical score range ¼ 20-80) was administered along with demographic, structural, cognitive, and behavioral items. Analysis: After calibrating the sample to population norms, we conducted multivariable linear regression analysis. Results: The overall mean survey-weighted loneliness score was 44.03 (standard error ¼ 0.09). Social support (standardized b [sb] ¼ 0.19) and meaningful daily interactions (sb ¼ 0.14) had the strongest associations with lower loneliness, along with reporting good relationships, family life, physical and mental health, friendships, greater age, being in a couple, and balancing one’s daily time. Social anxiety was most strongly associated with greater loneliness (sb ¼ þ0.20), followed by self-reported social media overuse (sb ¼ þ0.05) and daily use of text-based social media (sb ¼ þ0.03). Conclusion: Our findings confirm that loneliness decreases with age, and that being in a relationship as well as everyday behavioral factors in people’s control are most strongly related to loneliness. Population health promotion efforts to reduce loneliness should focus on improving social support, decreasing social anxiety, and promoting healthy daily behaviors.

Comments

This article is published as DesHarnais-Bruce, L., Wu, J.S., Lustig,S.L., Russell, D.W., Nemecek, D.A., Loneliness in the United States: A 2018 National Panel Survey of Demographic, Structural, Cognitive, and Behavioral Characteristics. American Journal of Health Promotion. June 2019, Doi:10.1177/0890117119856551.

Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Copyright
Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2019
Collections