Read: A better understanding of loneliness will help tackle it more effectively
It’s National Loneliness Week and although the world has once again opened up, and most of us are free to carry on with our lives as usual, the problem of loneliness hasn’t gone away.
New research published by the Government this week shows clearer than ever links between chronic loneliness and mental health distress. If you have ever experienced either, the relationship between the two issues won’t surprise you. But this analysis, carried out over a sustained period, shows the impact that one can have on the other.
The qualitative research, commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and produced by the National Centre for Social Research, looked at data for over 35,000 people aged 16 and over from 2013/14 until 2019/20. It considered what types of people were vulnerable to loneliness, whether risk factors for loneliness had changed, the relationship between mental wellbeing and loneliness and what factors alleviated loneliness in the short term.
Its findings highlight that specific groups are more vulnerable to the effects of loneliness – those with a disability or long-standing health condition, those in the LGBTQ community, those in the lowest income quintile group and, perhaps more surprisingly, young people between the ages of 16 and 34 who were at five times greater risk of chronic loneliness than those aged 65 or older. Following a recent survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute of more than 10,000 university students where one in four said they were lonely most or all of the time, perhaps that is not so surprising.
This new research is important because it provides more information on mental health wellbeing and the impacts of loneliness over a sustained period, with results showing that chronic loneliness plays a significant role in the onset and continuation of mental health distress. It’s also important because it acknowledges the need to maintain our efforts to tackle the problem and sets out a way forward.
As an MP, I founded and co-chaired the Loneliness Commission with Jo Cox to highlight the loneliness crisis that was increasingly evident to both of us. We wanted to enable the public to have a better understanding of the issue and to drive forward a policy response. It produced tangible results, including the first cross-government strategy to tackle the problem and the appointment of the world’s first Loneliness Minister.
I am proud that the recommendations of this research continue to build on those ambitions and expands the evidence base. The Government has set out a plan to launch a renewed effort to tackle the issue as part of our national recovery from the pandemic. It will work across a number of government departments, including the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, demonstrating how the root causes of loneliness can be complex and the impacts wide-ranging. It highlights the benefits of targeted support for people at different life stages, speeding up the rollout of mental health support teams in schools and expanding community services for adults and young people so that everyone can access the support, advice and resources they need. It also suggests more initiatives aimed at certain key moments in people’s lives such as miscarriage, redundancy and retirement which are associated with an increase in loneliness or a deterioration in mental health.
The Government has also recently opened a call for evidence to gather views from the public that will inform a new 10-year mental health plan which will focus on ensuring positive wellbeing more broadly.
People cannot take advantage of the opportunities that may be available to them if they do not feel connected with other people. That not only means that they may miss out on the chance to live more fulfilled, rewarding lives. It also means that society misses out on the talents and expertise they could contribute, socially and economically. Tackling loneliness starts with communication – talking about the problem, overcoming the stigmas and stereotypes and taking constructive action to manage negative feelings. That is how people can improve their social connections and that is how society can tackle this pressing public health issue more effectively.
