Older Persons' Experiences of Loneliness: A South African Perspective

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand and describe older persons' experiences of loneliness and their perceptions of the factors contributing to loneliness and ways of managing loneliness. The study comprised 31 research participants (males = 3, females = 28, mean age = 74.26, SD = 9.21; ethnicity: blacks = 15, whites = 16), and a qualitative phenomenological approach was used. The data were analysed on the basis of the phenomenological method, that is, the meaning units were identified and used to determine the psychological sense of the older persons' experiences of loneliness. Three main themes emerged: expressions of loneliness, contributing factors to loneliness and coping with loneliness. The findings confirmed that loneliness is a multifaceted phenomenon and that constructions of loneliness should be understood in the socio-cultural context in which older persons function. Sudden changes in the older persons' relation with their familiar environment contributed to their loneliness, and insight was gained into the positive and active coping skills they employed to adapt to the challenges of loneliness and how they grew from their loneliness.