Madam, - While the expansion of the Senior Helpline phone service is welcome, we should be cautious about emphasising the problem loneliness among older men ( The Irish Times, October 31st, November 3rd). Loneliness - the subjective feeling of social isolation - occurs in up to a third of the population at all ages. It is quite a nuanced concept, and is a distinct, but related, entity from objectively measured social isolation. It is also associated with reduced health and well-being at all ages.
An undue emphasis on loneliness in later life may add to the negative portrayal of older people that is all too common, and it is important to ensure that a lifelong perspective is maintained: a 1991 report on attitudes to ageing found that 90 per cent of people (including 82 per cent of retired people over 55) believed loneliness to be a problem associated with old age, but only 32 per cent of the older people interviewed said it was a problem for them personally.
Studies consistently report that about two-thirds of older people are never or rarely lonely; one fifth admit to being lonely sometimes; and about a tenth say that they are lonely very often.
The emphasis on men is a little puzzling, as American and European studies, including the first Irish longitudinal study on ageing - Health and Social Services for Older People II- show that loneliness in older people, where it occurs, is more common among women than men.
Initiatives such as the Senior Helpline should provide a further impetus to studies of social engagement and loneliness in Ireland. These should study these issues at all ages, rather than concentrating on later life only. From these we may gain a view of ageing in Ireland that better reflects its complexity, and which will allow us to escape stereotyping of old age. - Yours, etc,