Objectives: This study addresses the gendered risks of loneliness and depression in later life from a social exclusion perspective. Exclusion from social relations (ESR) in older age is an unwanted situation associated with increased loneliness and depressive symptoms, with gender differences in the perception of solitude, and the evaluation of existing social networks, potentially accounting for the increased susceptibility of older women. Method: Secondary analyses was conducted in a sample of 60,918 participants in the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Older persons subjective perception of solitude (i.e. solitude satisfaction), and their satisfaction with established relations (i.e. network satisfaction), were examined in gender-stratified regression models, predicting loneliness and depressive symptomatology, controlling for network size, demographics, and health. Results: There was no convincing evidence for significant associations between solitude satisfaction (SoS) and loneliness among older men, nor between network satisfaction (NeS) and loneliness for both genders. Low SoS and low NeS were independently associated with more depressive symptoms and an increased probability of depression, especially among older women. This vulnerability could not be attributed to increased loneliness, as only among older women, low SoS was associated with lower levels of loneliness, and lower levels of loneliness was anaemically associated with more depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The perception of solitude, and the evaluation of social relations, are associated with gendered risks of depression among older persons who are challenged by objective and subjective ESR states.

This study aims to explore the effects of childhood circumstances and conditions on the risk of exclusionfrom social relations in old age, using a life-course perspective and examining gender influence. Secondaryanalysis of SHARE. Weak and inconsistent consequences of the primary socialization context were found,however, in many cases, the expected effect is missing or contradictory. No impacts on the structure of the family oforigin were found. For men, we often found a small, but significant effect of physical aspects of childhood living.For women, the cultural capital of family of origin and the quality of relations with parents seem to have a greatereffect. Findings suggest that life-long resilience factors play an important role in the process of counterbalancingchildhood living conditions. Early socialization consequences will not necessarily lead to ESR at old age.

Background and ObjectivesLoneliness and exclusion from social relations (ESR) are frequently addressed as public health issues for older adults. Public discourses potentially influence how loneliness and ESR are understood in society and experienced by the individual. The aim of this study was to analyze how older adults in different parts of Sweden use the discourses and concepts available to them to describe experiences of ESR and loneliness, and how these descriptions are used to construct a self-identity.Research Design and MethodsQualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 individuals (14 men, 16 women) aged 67 to 87 years and living in Sweden. Emphasis was, in line with perspectives of discursive psychology, on how individuals draw on discourses to make sense of experiences. The empirical material was analyzed through an inductive process where we were open to finding concepts and themes.ResultsMost participants emphasized the importance of not being lonely, considered achievable through maintaining an active lifestyle. “Othering” was taking place, where a general image of a “lonely” older adult was referred to when speaking about "others" loneliness. Those who expressed feelings of loneliness related these feelings to loss, being omitted and other difficult life circumstances.Discussion and ImplicationsStates of ESR were discussed more comfortably than loneliness, while various linguistic resources were used to distance themselves from loneliness. These findings indicate the need for further studies elaborating on how older adults make sense of ESR and loneliness and what implications this has for older adults’ well-being and identity-making

Introduction

Exclusion from social relations (ESR) and loneliness in older age are public health concerns that threatens the cohesion of modern societies. The risks of ESR in older age may be gendered, and when describing relational deficits at the extreme, ESR states may be associated with worse quality of life (QoL), more depression (DEP), and rapid cognitive decline. 

Material and methods

The studies include cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses from the fourth, sixth, and eight wave of the Survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe. Situational (e.g., marital status), dispositional (i.e., personality traits), and health factors were used as predictors in regression models examining the probability of ESR states in older age, as well as the cross-sectional associations of ESR with QoL and DEP. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine longitudinal associations between ESR states and episodic memory (MEM) decline rates. 

Results

The results indicate gender differences in the probability of ESR states, with certain situational factors (e.g., widowed, never married) significantly increasing these probabilities for both genders, while other (e.g., divorce) having a gender-specific significance. Situational factors were more predictive of ESR states than personality traits. Certain ESR states were associated with more DEP and lower QoL in older age, with excluded older women to be more at-risk of DEP. There was evidence for cross-sectional associations of ESR states with episodic memory, but no evidence for longitudinal associations in this respect.

Conclusions

Different types of ESR states are associated with QoL, DEP, and MEM decline in older age. The risks of ESR in older age should be examined from a gender perspective, while the effects of ESR states on memory seem to be temporal, and therefore, probably reversable. 

Exclusion from social relations (ESR) in older age is associated with worse quality of life and adverse mental health outcomes. Recent evidence suggest that the perception of solitude and the evaluation of existing social networks modify the disadvantages of ESR among excluded older persons. This presentation takes a gender perspective on the topic, bringing together the quantitative evidence of the GenPath project. The results of the project suggest that over and above loneliness and objective ESR indicators, the perception of solitude and the evaluation of existing social relations modify the gendered risks of depression in older age. The findings also reveal a northwest to southeast gradient in objective ESR states, with the rates in southeast Europe to be pronounced among older women. It is concluded that objective and subjective factors at the micro and macro levels may shape gendered disadvantages among older persons who are challenged by ESR states.

This study examined from a gender-sensitive perspective the associations of exclusion from social relations (ESR) with the quality of life (QoL) of excluded older persons. Being satisfied with existing relations (i.e., network satisfaction) may be particularly important for the QoL of older persons with small networks, whereas the QoL of “network-less” older persons may be associated with their perception of solitude (i.e., solitude satisfaction). This study examined the moderating role of network satisfaction (NS) in the gendered associations between network size and QoL, as well as the gendered associations of solitude satisfaction (SS) with the QoL of older “network-less” persons. In addition, the comparative disadvantages in the QoL of “network-less” older persons with low-to-high SS, compared to the QoL of socially embedded persons with low-to-high NS were examined. Cross-sectional gender stratified secondary analyses of data from participants (N = 72.433) in the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) did not provide convincing evidence that a higher NS is particularly important for the QoL of older persons with smaller networks. Among older “network-less” persons, lower SS was associated with lower QoL, comparatively more so among older women. Older persons embedded in a social network with low NS, as well as older “network-less” persons with low SS, have comparatively the lowest levels of QoL. It was concluded that the subjective evaluation of social relations and the subjective evaluation of solitude are associated with gendered disadvantages in the QoL of older persons challenged by ESR.

The progressive demographic change into an aging population affects several aspects of our lives, including tourism. The profile of older travellers as well as their expectations, needs, and motivations are changing. Tourism, being one of the most dynamically developing sectors in Greece, should consider new trends. Given the noticeable ageing trends in modern societies, the tourism of older people in Greece is a sector with great prospects of development for the benefit of all, as well as a significant part of the silver economy. Older people are undeniably important customers for the industry of tourism in Greece, whereas older tourists are more flexible in the time periods they can travel, and their time spend in holidays is more than younger tourists per trip. The survey of the Silver Guide program was aimed at investigating the needs of today’s silvers travellers in Greece. The results of this research highlight the general needs and preferences of tourists who visited Greece in 2021 (i.e., amid the COVID-19 pandemic), as well as those who consider visiting Greece. The conclusions can be used to evaluate and develop services and products for tourists of these ages in Greece, as well as for the better utilization of the dynamism of silver tourism as an economic leverage for development at local and national level.