With the recent Christmas and New Year’s celebrations drawing people’s focus back to family and friends, Perth researchers are shining a light on loneliness.
The issue of loneliness has been described by one of the first research papers of 2024 as a looming public health epidemic — especially among young people.
Recent research has linked loneliness with numerous health issues, including an increased risk of mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, substance misuse, internet addiction and suicide. This is on top of physical health problems such as cardiovascular issues and a significantly increased risk of dying prematurely.
A study from last October, using 15 years’ worth of data from 491,603 people, found that loneliness was associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, even when demographic and socioeconomic factors as well as social isolation, genetic risk, and physical and mental health were taken into account.
With an estimated one in 12 people experiencing loneliness at a level that can lead to serious health problems, a Curtin University project is tackling the problem head-on by developing a targeted, individual approach to treatment.
Study lead and clinical psychologist Dr David Preece, from the Curtin enAble Institute and School of Population Health, said there was often a misconception about who was most impacted by loneliness.
“It’s sometimes stereotyped as an issue for older adults, but loneliness affects people of all ages and is in fact most prevalent in young people aged 16 to 25,” he said.
“Even before COVID, around one in three young Australians were experiencing chronic or severe loneliness.”
During the pandemic there was a ‘pruning’ of social networks, and evidence emerged that increased digital interaction did not substitute for lost physical contact. Younger people also reported disruptions, including to travel and university attendance, which contributed to feeling isolated.
Dr Preece said there were many reasons people experienced loneliness, ranging from a lack of opportunities for meaningful social contact due to limited social networks, difficulties in social skills making it challenging to form close, fulfilling relationships, or a lack of strategies to regulate emotions.
“One or a combination of these factors may be behind someone’s loneliness — as such, it’s important interventions target the causes most relevant to the individual,” he said.
The research team has developed a new questionnaire to better assess and identify distinct types and causes of loneliness in 16 to 25-year-olds, that will be used to assign participants one of several specific treatment modules to target the most relevant mechanisms for that person.
“We are now harnessing this precision health approach to target loneliness, bridging clinical science and emotion science,” Dr Preece said.
“This approach recognises that not everyone has a health issue for the same reasons, and we believe that these new, targeted, and highly accessible assessment and treatment tools will be vitally important in combating loneliness moving forward.”