ArticlePublisher preview available

Perceived Social Support, Loneliness, and Later Life Telomere Length Following Wartime Captivity

Authors:
Jacob Y. Stein at College of Management
Jacob Y. Stein
  • College of Management
Yafit Levin at Ariel University
Yafit Levin
Yael Lahav at Tel Aviv University
Yael Lahav
Orit Uziel at Tel Aviv University
Orit Uziel
Show all 6 authorsHide
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Objectives: Telomere length (TL) is a robust indicator of cellular aging. TL erosion has been associated with exposure to social and traumatic stressors. Loneliness and perceived social support are strongly linked to increased morbidity and mortality, but have yet to be investigated in relation to TL after extreme stress. The present study examined whether loneliness and lack of perceived social support following wartime captivity may be associated with TL as repatriated prisoners of war (ex-POWs) enter old age and contribute to its prediction. Method: A cohort of Israeli ex-POWs from the 1973 Yom Kippur War (n = 83) were assessed. Questionnaires were utilized to assess loneliness and perceived social support 18 years after the repatriation (T1), and Southern blotting was used to measure TL 24 years later (T2). A zero-order Pearson correlation test and a hierarchical regression analysis were utilized in order to examine the research questions. Results: Loneliness and lack of perceived social support each significantly predicted shorter TL in later life, and together added 25.8% to the overall explained variance. Conclusions: This is the first study to empirically demonstrate that loneliness and lack of perceived social support in early adulthood may be associated with shorter TL during transition to old age in a population that has endured extreme stress. Although the study design precludes causal inferences, several psychobiological mechanisms may explain the findings. The potential clinical significance of social deficits for longevity and heath in related populations is therefore addressed, and an agenda for future investigations is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record
A preview of this full-text is provided by American Psychological Association.
Learn more
Content available from Health Psychology
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Perceived Social Support, Loneliness, and Later Life Telomere Length
Following Wartime Captivity
Jacob Y. Stein, Yafit Levin, and Yael Lahav
Tel-Aviv University
Orit Uziel
Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel and
Tel-Aviv University
Heba Abumock
Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel
Zahava Solomon
Tel-Aviv University
Objectives: Telomere length (TL) is a robust indicator of cellular aging. TL erosion has been associated
with exposure to social and traumatic stressors. Loneliness and perceived social support are strongly
linked to increased morbidity and mortality, but have yet to be investigated in relation to TL after extreme
stress. The present study examined whether loneliness and lack of perceived social support following
wartime captivity may be associated with TL as repatriated prisoners of war (ex-POWs) enter old age and
contribute to its prediction. Method: A cohort of Israeli ex-POWs from the 1973 Yom Kippur War (n⫽
83) were assessed. Questionnaires were utilized to assess loneliness and perceived social support 18 years
after the repatriation (T1), and Southern blotting was used to measure TL 24 years later (T2). A
zero-order Pearson correlation test and a hierarchical regression analysis were utilized in order to
examine the research questions. Results: Loneliness and lack of perceived social support each signifi-
cantly predicted shorter TL in later life, and together added 25.8% to the overall explained variance.
Conclusions: This is the first study to empirically demonstrate that loneliness and lack of perceived
social support in early adulthood may be associated with shorter TL during transition to old age in a
population that has endured extreme stress. Although the study design precludes causal inferences,
several psychobiological mechanisms may explain the findings. The potential clinical significance of
social deficits for longevity and heath in related populations is therefore addressed, and an agenda for
future investigations is suggested.
Keywords: telomeres, wartime captivity, loneliness, social support, stress
Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000669.supp
Telomeres are DNA nucleoprotein complexes located at the
ends of chromosomes that protect the stability and integrity of the
chromosomes (e.g., prevent the end of the linear chromosomal
DNA from being recognized as a broken end; Blackburn, Epel, &
Lin, 2015). Telomeres shorten with every consecutive DNA rep-
lication, and therefore telomere length (TL) is considered a robust
marker of cellular aging (e.g., Müezzinler, Zaineddin, & Brenner,
2013). Shorter telomeres are associated with a weaker immune
system and altogether higher vulnerability to age related diseases
and mortality (e.g., Kaszubowska, 2008). Moreover, evidence in-
dicates that this relation is reciprocal: telomere shortening can both
facilitate disease etiology and progression and be a result of age-
related diseases (Blackburn et al., 2015). Notwithstanding, the mech-
anisms of telomere attrition and its association with morbidity and
mortality remain only partially understood. In this respect, the role
that stress-related factors play in this process is rapidly gaining re-
searchers’ attention.
The link between stressful and traumatic experiences and TL
erosion has been initially identified in vitro in relation to caregiver
stress (e.g., Epel et al., 2004). Recent studies have also demon-
strated that TL shortening is associated with combat stress (e.g.,
Bersani et al., 2016;Zhang et al., 2014), social stressors (e.g.,
Oliveira et al., 2016), and childhood stressors (e.g., Price, Kao,
Burgers, Carpenter, & Tyrka, 2013), to name but a few. Studies
This article was published Online First September 10, 2018.
Jacob Y. Stein, Yafit Levin, and Yael Lahav, Bob Shapell School of
Social Work, and I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma, Tel Aviv
University; Orit Uziel, Laboratory for Telomere Biology, Felsenstein
Medical Research Center, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel,
and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University; Heba Abumock,
Laboratory for Telomere Biology, Felsenstein Medical Research Cen-
ter, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel; Zahava Solomon, Bob
Shapell School of Social Work, and I-Core Research Center for Mass
Trauma, Tel Aviv University.
This research was supported by the I-CORE Program of the Planning
and Budgeting Committee and The Israel Science Foundation (Grant
1916/12).
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jacob Y.
Stein, Bob Shapell School of Social Work, I-CORE Research Center for
Mass Trauma, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, Ramat Aviv, Tel-
Aviv 69978, Israel. E-mail: cobisari@gmail.com
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Health Psychology
© 2018 American Psychological Association 2018, Vol. 37, No. 11, 1067–1076
0278-6133/18/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000669
1067
... Findings from the effect modification analyses are in contrast to our hypothesis. Similar to prior literature, (10,26,28) we found participants with high social support have longer telomere length compare to those with low social support. However, while we found evidence of a modifying effect from social support, the adverse effect of food insecurity was found only among the high social support group. ...
Food Insecurity, Telomere Length and the Potential Modifying Effects of Social Support in NHANES
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2023
Objective Telomere length (TL) is a posited pathway through which chronic stress results in biological dysregulation and subsequent adverse health outcomes. Food insecurity is associated with shorter TL. Social support, which is defined by the size and function of an individual’s social network, is associated with better health outcomes. The present study assesses whether social support modifies the relationship between food security and TL. Design Cross-sectional study design. Linear regression was used to assess the association between social support and TL, stratified by social support level. A multiplicative interacted model was used to formally test modification. Setting Data come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 waves. Participants Adults aged 60 years and older who have measurements for TL. Results Our sample comprised 2,674 participants, and 63.5% of the total sample had low social support, with 13.3% being food insecure. In fully adjusted models, food insecurity was negatively though modestly associated (P=0.13) with TL. Associations between food insecurity and TL were significantly modified by social support (interaction P=0.026), whereby food insecurity had a stronger effect among individuals with high social support (coefficient = -0.099 (95% CI: -0.161, -0.038)) compared to low social support (coefficient = -0.001, (95% CI: -0.033, 0.032)). Conclusion Food insecurity is modestly associated with shorter TL. Contrary to our hypothesis, food insecurity had more deleterious effects on TL among participants with high social support than low social support. Results may indicate that the food insecure population is a higher needs population, and increased social support reflects these needs rather than providing protective effects.
View
... The laboratory of Solomon and colleagues has been the most active group in terms of studying loneliness and PTSS. In particular, they have found important associations of loneliness and PTSS in combat veterans and POWs from the 1982 Lebanon War [43,[49][50][51][52][53]78]. Overall Solomon's research group has found loneliness to be commonly associated with symptoms of PTSD, and that soldiers who received frontline treatment for post-traumatic stress demonstrated less loneliness over time. ...
Loneliness in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Neglected Factor in Accelerated Aging?
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2022
Prior research suggests that people with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may experience a form of accelerated biological aging. In other populations, loneliness has been shown to elevate risk for many of the same components of accelerated biological aging, and other deleterious outcomes, as seen in people with PTSD. Although standard diagnostic criteria for PTSD include “feelings of detachment or estrangement from others”, the relationship of such feelings to the concept of loneliness remains uncertain, in par potentially due to a failure to distinguish between loneliness versus objective social isolation. In order to catalyze wider research attention to loneliness in PTSD, and the potential contribution to accelerated biological aging, the present paper provides three components: (1) a conceptual overview of the relevant constructs and potential interrelationships, (2) a review of the limited extant empirical literature, and (3) suggested directions for future research. The existing empirical literature is too small to support many definitive conclusions, but there is evidence of an association between loneliness and symptoms of PTSD. The nature of this association may be complex, and the causal direction(s) uncertain. Guided by the conceptual overview and review of existing literature, we also highlight key areas for further research. The ultimate goal of this line of work is to elucidate mechanisms underlying any link between loneliness and accelerated aging in PTSD, and to develop, validate, and refine prevention and treatment efforts.
View
... Other publications refer to aging (Shnoor et al., 2017;Rimmerman, 2020) and gender (Harel-Shalev & Daphna-Tekoah, 2021;Koren et al., 2015). Considerable research has been done about veterans with post-trauma (PTSD) in various aspects of their life by different Israeli scholars (Ginzburg et al., 2009;Ritov & Barnetz, 2014 ;Solomon et al., 2018). The lack of awareness of attention to the population of DIDF veterans in HE was also reflected in a follow-up study that was conducted over four years to evaluate the success of the "Revolution in Higher Education" project. ...
Disabled IDF Veterans in Israeli Higher Education: Disability Identity and Use of Support
Article
  • May 2022
Even though military service in Israel is mandatory and common among the state population, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) veterans with disabilities are rarely represented in the literature regarding their experience in Israeli higher education (HE). This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the experiences of disabled IDF (DIDF) veteran students, their experiences as students, identities, challenges, and utilization of support resources on their campuses. The relevant fields of Disability Studies, Veteran Studies, and the use of disability support services on campus are discussed in this study, focusing on the implementation of accessibility regulations and practices in the Israeli HE system concerning the target population of DIDF veterans. This dissertation study aimed to understand the perceptions, needs for disability services, and experiences of DIDF-veteran students within the general student population in Israeli HE. This study applied a qualitative method with a small quantitative component. Participants were recruited to respond to an online survey and then were offered to participate in in-depth interviews. The qualitative sample included 13 participants who had a range of disabilities and attended different HE institutions including colleges and universities. They had varied military service backgrounds and educational experiences during undergraduate and graduate studies. All participants were officially recognized as DIDF veterans by the MoD, having a single or multiple disabilities. This population mainly receives rehabilitation and support services from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD), but not necessarily in HE. The interview transcripts were analyzed using an inductive approach. The findings revealed that many of the participants had learning disabilities (LDs) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other impairments or medical conditions on top of their military disability that impacted their ability to function as students. The study findings were displayed first by the four (sub) research questions and then were organized into three major themes: Disability as a Complex Category, Negotiating Disability, Choice of Support. In conclusion, my study calls for a greater awareness of this unique population and its needs in HE, which has the potential to serve as a rehabilitation site for many of them.
View
Birds of a feather age together: telomere dynamics and social behavior predict life span in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2024
Social support is vital for mental and physical health and is linked to lower rates of disease and early mortality. Conversely, anti-social behavior can increase mortality risks, both for the initiator and target of the behavior. Chronic stress, which also can increase mortality, may serve as an important link between social behavior and healthy lifespan. There is a growing body of literature in both humans, and model organisms, that chronic social stress can result in more rapid telomere shortening, a measure of biological aging. Here we examine the role of anti-social behavior and social support on physiological markers of stress and aging in the social Japanese quail, Coturnix Japonica. Birds were maintained in groups for their entire lifespan, and longitudinal measures of antisocial behavior (aggressive agonistic behavior), social support (affiliative behavior), baseline corticosterone, change in telomere length, and lifespan were measured. We found quail in affiliative relationships both committed less and were the targets of less aggression compared to birds who were not in these relationships. In addition, birds displaying affiliative behavior had longer telomeres, and longer lifespans. Our work suggests a novel pathway by which social support may buffer against damage at the cellular level resulting in telomere protection and subsequent longer lifespans.
View
How does loneliness “get under the skin” to become biologically embedded?
Article
  • Oct 2023
Loneliness is linked to declining physical health across cardiovascular, inflammatory, metabolic, and cognitive domains. As a result, loneliness is increasingly being recognized as a public health threat, though the mechanisms that have been studied do not yet explain all loneliness-related health risk. Potential mechanisms include loneliness having 1.) direct, causal impacts on health, possibly maintained by epigenetic modification, 2.) indirect effects mediated through health-limiting behaviors, and 3.) artifactual associations perhaps related to genetic overlap and reverse causation. In this scoping review, we examine the evidence surrounding each of these pathways, with a particular emphasis on emerging research on epigenetic effects, in order to evaluate how loneliness becomes biologically embedded. We conclude that there are significant gaps in our knowledge of how psychosocial stress may lead to physiological changes, so more work is needed to understand if, how, and when loneliness has a direct influence on health. Hypothalamic-pituitary adrenocortical axis disruptions that lead to changes in gene expression through methylation and the activity of transcription factor proteins are one promising area of research but are confounded by a number of unmeasured factors. Therefore, wok is needed using causally informative designs, such as twin and family studies and intensively longitudinal diary studies.
View
Desarrollo evolutivo humano y longevidad. Un análisis bio-psicosocial ( Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología: Ciencia y Tecnología, ISSN-e 2027-1786, Vol. 13, Nº. 1, 2020).
Article
  • Apr 2020
En este trabajo se hace una revisión bibliográfica sobre el desarrollo evolutivo humano y longevidad, desde un enfoque biopsicosocial (Engel, 1977; Gliedt et al., 2017; Lehman et al., 2017). Tras aplicar el método de análisis PRISMA, se obtuvieron diversos resultados relacionados con un desarrollo evolutivo más longevo; así, en el área biológica, 3 factores: los SNPs, los telómeros y la química del estrés; en el área psicológica, 5 factores: la metacognición, la resiliencia, la espiritualidad, las relaciones personales y la depresión; y en el área social, 8 factores: la pseudo-heredabilidad, las relaciones conyugales, la maternidad, el nivel educativo, estilos de vida, dieta y restricción calórica, actividad física y mental y tecnología sanitaria. Ante los datos obtenidos en las tres áreas, de este enfoque biopsicosocial, y el repetido solapamiento entre factores del área psicológica y del área social, se plantea que pudieran considerarse estas dos como una conjunta, proponiéndose un enfoque explicativo con dos áreas: bio-psicosocial que, por factores encontrados en este trabajo, quedarían un 18,7% de biológica y un 81,3% psicosocial. Actualmente, hay suficiente información sobre desarrollo evolutivo humano y longevidad, pero una ausencia de investigaciones que estudien esos factores desde una perspectiva integrada. Mucha de esa información privilegiada se podría aplicar ya, psicológica y socialmente, a la población en general, para una mejora de su salud, en cualquier fase del desarrollo evolutivo humano.
View
Social support and telomere length: a meta-analysis
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
  • J BEHAV MED
Previous studies have shown that lower social support is associated with higher all-cause mortality (Holt-Lunstad et al. in PLoS ONE Medicine 7:e1000316, 2010). While social support has been associated with system-specific biological measures (e.g., cardiovascular), there is the need to elucidate more general biological mechanisms linking social support to health risk across a number of diseases. In this meta-analytic review, the link between social support and telomere length (Cawthon et al. in Lancet 361:393–395, 2003) was conducted based on the updated PRISMA guidelines (Page et al., 2021). Across 17 studies, higher social support was not significantly related to longer telomere length (Zr = 0.010, 95% CI [− 0.028, 0.047], p > 0.05). The confidence interval indicated that the bulk of plausible values were small to null associations. Little evidence for bias was found as shown by funnel plots and Kendall’s Tau. Moderator analyses focusing on the measure of support, health of sample, age, type of assay specimen, and gender were not significant. In conclusion, this review showed no significant relationship between social support and telomere length and highlights important future directions.
View
Association of Social Support Network with Telomere Length: A Cross-Sectional Study with Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Article
  • Sep 2022
Considering that telomere length can be determined not only by issues related to cell biology, but also by aspects related to social factors and environmental exposures, studies on the relationship between social aspects and telomere length can help to better understand the still little-known aspects of the human aging process. Thus, this research seeks to verify whether social support network is associated with telomere length in older adults. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 448 individuals aged 60 years or older living in the urban area of a municipality in Brazil's countryside. The relative quantification of telomere length was obtained through real-time qPCR. Social support was assessed through the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used in the data analysis. The evaluated social support networks for older adults are composed, on average, of 16.4 people and the percentage of older adults who reported up to five members in the network was 27.75%. The shorter telomere length was identified in 25% of the participants, and older adults who reported having up to five members in the support network were more likely to have shorter telomere length than the ones who reported more numerous networks (OR: 1.89, p=0.011), regardless of gender, age, household arrangement, cognitive decline and dependence for basic and instrumental activities of daily life, which suggests that measures that stimulate the creation and maintenance of social support networks should be implemented in order to improve the health of the older adults.
View
Loneliness and health.
Chapter
  • Jan 2021
Loneliness is usually defined as a distressing feeling that accompanies the perception that one’s social needs are not being met by meaningful relationships. Although it is often trivialized, it has recently been acknowledged as a public health issue. Moreover, the prevalence doubled in the last decade, expectably aggravated in the context of COVID-19. However, the effects of loneliness on health remain unknown and understudied. The chapter provides an analysis of the main effects of loneliness on health, their underlying mechanisms, and moderators based on the recent literature. A thorough review was conducted using Web of Science and Semantic Scholar as main databases using “loneliness” and “health” as main keywords. Full-text articles published in English, Spanish and Portuguese were included in the review. In addition, landmark studies were also included in the review. Evidence based on this review indicates that an increasing number of well-conducted studies highlight the deleterious effect of loneliness on a wide range of health problems. Moreover, the negative impact of loneliness on health is comparable to well-established factors such as smoking for both men and women after controlling for confounding variables. The effect of loneliness on health seems to be mainly mediated by the stress-response, suggesting the crucial role of lack of social support as a key stressor in humans. Furthermore, loneliness affects cognition impairing social and executive functions such as inhibitory control associated with a healthy and successful life. Finally, this chapter discusses how to design loneliness-based interventions to improve public health policies and promote health.
View
Social isolation and social support in good times and bad times
Article
  • Aug 2021
People who are socially isolated or lonely report having lower levels of social support. Supportive social networks help buffer individuals against the deleterious effects of negative events and stressors. Supportive social networks also help individuals maximize the benefits of positive events and accomplishments. In short, those who are socially isolated suffer more when bad things happen and gain less when good things happen than those who are more socially connected.
View
View
Associations between loneliness and perceived social support and outcomes of mental health problems: A systematic review
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2018
  • BMC PSYCHIATRY
Background: The adverse effects of loneliness and of poor perceived social support on physical health and mortality are established, but no systematic synthesis is available of their relationship with the outcomes of mental health problems over time. In this systematic review, we aim to examine the evidence on whether loneliness and closely related concepts predict poor outcomes among adults with mental health problems. Methods: We searched six databases and reference lists for longitudinal quantitative studies that examined the relationship between baseline measures of loneliness and poor perceived social support and outcomes at follow up. Thirty-four eligible papers were retrieved. Due to heterogeneity among included studies in clinical populations, predictor measures and outcomes, a narrative synthesis was conducted. Results: We found substantial evidence from prospective studies that people with depression who perceive their social support as poorer have worse outcomes in terms of symptoms, recovery and social functioning. Loneliness has been investigated much less than perceived social support, but there is some evidence that greater loneliness predicts poorer depression outcome. There is also some preliminary evidence of associations between perceived social support and outcomes in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders. Conclusions: Loneliness and quality of social support in depression are potential targets for development and testing of interventions, while for other conditions further evidence is needed regarding relationships with outcomes.
View
The veteran's loneliness: Emergence, facets and implications for intervention
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Oct 2017
Veterans' loneliness may persist decades after the war and may be detrimental, particularly when deployment has been traumatic. Indeed, mitigating loneliness via social support may be essential for alleviating war-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nevertheless, rarely has veterans' loneliness been empirically investigated, and its unique features have never been systematically delineated. Since experiences of loneliness vary qualitatively, and these variations may have implications regarding the kind of support and clinical intervention necessary for their amelioration, understanding its nature may be critical. The current chapter fills this gap by delineating this experience's developmental course and the underlying relational deficits at its infrastructure throughout that course. Based on veterans' accounts and extant multidisciplinary literature, the veteran's loneliness is traced from enlistment, through deployment, war, and homecoming. An experiential loneliness bound to the "veteran identity" is depicted, and the significance of transitions between social contexts and experiential worlds is underscored. Comparing the characteristics of this loneliness to those of other types of loneliness the chapter highlights the necessity of understanding the veteran's experience as a specific form of loneliness, with implications for intervention, both clinical and societal. The chapter therefore concludes with implications for practitioners and social support networks, as well as desirable directions for future research.
View
Advancing Social Connection as a Public Health Priority in the United States
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2017
A robust body of scientific evidence has indicated that being embedded in high-quality close relationships and feeling socially connected to the people in one's life is associated with decreased risk for all-cause mortality as well as a range of disease morbidities. Despite mounting evidence that the magnitude of these associations is comparable to that of many leading health determinants (that receive significant public health resources), government agencies, health care providers and associations, and public or private health care funders have been slow to recognize human social relationships as either a health determinant or health risk marker in a manner that is comparable to that of other public health priorities. This article evaluates current evidence (on social relationships and health) according to criteria commonly used in determining public health priorities. The article discusses challenges for reducing risk in this area and outlines an agenda for integrating social relationships into current public health priorities.
View
A life less lonely: the state of the art in interventions to reduce loneliness in people with mental health problems
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2017
  • SOC PSYCH PSYCH EPID
Purpose: There is growing evidence of significant harmful effects of loneliness. Relatively little work has focused on how best to reduce loneliness in people with mental health problems. We aim to present an overview of the current state of the art in loneliness interventions in people with mental health problems, identify relevant challenges, and highlight priorities for future research and implementation. Methods: A scoping review of the published and grey literature was conducted, as well as discussions with relevant experts, to propose a broad classification system for types of interventions targeting loneliness. Results: We categorised interventions as 'direct', targeting loneliness and related concepts in social relationships, and 'indirect' broader approaches to well-being that may impact on loneliness. We describe four broad groups of direct interventions: changing cognitions; social skills training and psychoeducation; supported socialisation or having a 'socially-focused supporter'; and 'wider community approaches'. The most promising emerging evidence appears to be in 'changing cognitions', but, as yet, no approaches have a robust evidence base. Challenges include who is best placed to offer the intervention, how to test such complex interventions, and the stigma surrounding loneliness. Conclusions: Development of clearly defined loneliness interventions, high-quality trials of effectiveness, and identifying which approaches work best for whom is required. Promising future approaches may include wider community initiatives and social prescribing. It is important to place loneliness and social relationships high on the wider public mental health and research agenda.
View
Sleeping with one eye open: loneliness and sleep quality in young adults
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2017
  • PSYCHOL MED
Background: Feelings of loneliness are common among young adults, and are hypothesized to impair the quality of sleep. In the present study, we tested associations between loneliness and sleep quality in a nationally representative sample of young adults. Further, based on the hypothesis that sleep problems in lonely individuals are driven by increased vigilance for threat, we tested whether past exposure to violence exacerbated this association. Method: Data were drawn from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a birth cohort of 2232 twins born in England and Wales in 1994 and 1995. We measured loneliness using items from the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. We controlled for covariates including social isolation, psychopathology, employment status and being a parent of an infant. We examined twin differences to control for unmeasured genetic and family environment factors. Results: Feelings of loneliness were associated with worse overall sleep quality. Loneliness was associated specifically with subjective sleep quality and daytime dysfunction. These associations were robust to controls for covariates. Among monozygotic twins, within-twin pair differences in loneliness were significantly associated with within-pair differences in sleep quality, indicating an association independent of unmeasured familial influences. The association between loneliness and sleep quality was exacerbated among individuals exposed to violence victimization in adolescence or maltreatment in childhood. Conclusions: Loneliness is robustly associated with poorer sleep quality in young people, underscoring the importance of early interventions to mitigate the long-term outcomes of loneliness. Special care should be directed towards individuals who have experienced victimization.
View
Loneliness in the Modern Age: An Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (ETL)
Chapter
  • Jan 2018
  • ADV EXP SOC PSYCHOL
We describe the Cacioppo Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (ETL) and its manifestations in contemporary society. The early conceptualizations of loneliness were as an individual difference characterizing a relatively small subset of the population. The ETL characterizes loneliness as not simply addressing an individual difference, but also as addressing the effects of loneliness on people generally. The progression motivated by the ETL to animal models and comparative analyses broadens the focus further to periods long before hominids evolved. The premise underlying our ETL is that an organism's perception of being socially isolated (i.e., lonely) automatically signals an environment in which the likelihood is low of encountering social behaviors categorized in terms of evolutionary fitness as mutual benefit or altruism. As a result, the likelihood is high of the organism exhibiting behaviors categorized in terms of evolutionary fitness as selfish. This shift in the fitness consequences of behavior is posited to be evolutionarily old and to operate in humans in part through nonconscious processes. The ETL addresses the adaptive functions of loneliness that foster short-term survival but that in the modern world can have deleterious long-term consequences. In doing so, the ETL places the social level of organization front and center in scientific investigations of the human brain and behavior. The centrality of the social world highlighted by the ETL is not attributed to social construction but to social and biological processes, including evolutionary forces operating across social species long before humans walked the earth.
View
Communal Coping and Adjustment to Chronic Illness: Theory Update and Evidence
Article
  • Oct 2017
We present a theory of communal coping that describes an optimal pathway to patient adjustment among couples in which one person faces a chronic illness. Communal coping consists of a shared illness appraisal (i.e., person perceives illness as a joint rather than individual problem) and collaboration with a partner to manage the illness. We present a model of the communal coping process that links patient and partner shared illness appraisals to collaboration and a set of supportive interactions that might be reframed as collaboration in the presence of shared illness appraisals. We then outline a model that identifies potential antecedents of communal coping and mechanisms that link communal coping to patient illness adjustment (i.e., enhanced psychological well-being, improved health behaviors, better physical health) and partner psychological well-being. We review the empirical evidence for this model and conclude by identifying several moderator variables, noting potential limitations, and outlining future research directions.
View
Why Social Relationships Are Important for Physical Health: A Systems Approach to Understanding and Modifying Risk and Protection
Article
  • Jan 2018
Social relationships are adaptive and crucial for survival. This review presents existing evidence that our social connections to others have powerful influences on health and longevity and that lacking social connection qualifies as a risk factor for premature mortality. A systems perspective is presented as a framework by which to move social connection into the realm of public health. Individuals, and health-relevant biological processes, exist within larger social contexts including the family, neighborhood and community, and society and culture. Applying the social ecological model, this review highlights the interrelationships of individuals within groups in terms of understanding both the causal mechanisms by which social connection influences physical health and the ways in which this influence can inform potential intervention strategies. A systems approach also helps identify gaps in our current understanding that may guide future research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology Volume 69 is January 4, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
View
View