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Gender differences in the correlates of loneliness among Japanese persons aged 50–70
Author(s) -
Broek Thijs
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12448
Subject(s) - loneliness , spouse , childlessness , psychology , ucla loneliness scale , logistic regression , demography , gerontology , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , population , fertility , sociology , anthropology
Objective This study aimed to explore gender differences in the correlates of loneliness among Japanese persons aged 50–70. Methods Logistic regression models were estimated on cross‐sectional Japanese Generations and Gender Survey data of 4057 persons aged 50–70. Loneliness was measured as having a score of 2 or higher on the shortened De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale. Results For more than half of the respondents, De Jong Gierveld loneliness scores exceeded the threshold of 2. Loneliness was more prevalent among men than among women. Living without a spouse or partner was more strongly associated with loneliness for men than for women. Childlessness was more strongly associated with loneliness for women than for men. Conclusion A large proportion of Japanese people between 50 and 70, particularly men, are lonely. Programs aimed at reducing loneliness should acknowledge that antecedents of loneliness differ between women and men.