Evidence base
AARP Foundation
Loneliness and Social Connections: A National Survey of Adults 45 and Older
What it found
A 2018 AARP Foundation national survey of 3,020 U.S. adults aged 45 and older, using the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, found that one in three respondents report being lonely. Network size and diversity, along with physical isolation, were the strongest predictors. Loneliness rates varied sharply with neighbour contact: 33% among those who have spoken to neighbours versus 61% among those who never have.
Why it matters for practice
The use of the standard UCLA scale makes this dataset directly comparable to academic loneliness research, which is unusual for a survey of this size. The neighbour-contact finding is a useful anchor point for anyone designing community-level interventions, though the survey establishes association, not causation.