ArticleBMC geriatrics2020
Overcoming existential loneliness: a cross-cultural study.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Exploring Cultural Influences in the Associations Between Emotion Regulation and Mental Health: A Systematic Review Comparing East Asian and Western Cultural Contexts.Clinical psychology & psychotherapyPooled it
- The development and preliminary validation of a multidimensional assessment scale for loneliness in nursing homes.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- Psychometric validation, factor structure, and measurement invariance of the Arabic brief existential loneliness scale.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- How is loneliness orientation implicated in the relationship between sleep problems, loneliness intensity, and school refusal in adolescents?Sleep and biological rhythms · 2025Article
- Canadian perspectives on loneliness; digital communication as meaningful connection.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- "It's a feeling of complete disconnection": experiences of existential loneliness from youth to older adulthood.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- Analyzing the use of videoconference by and for older adults in nursing homes: an interdisciplinary approach to learn from the pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Existential Loneliness Among Older People from the Perspective of Health Care Professionals: A European Multicenter Study.Psychology research and behavior management · 2023Article
- Process of inner change in advanced age: a qualitative study of older adults in their early 90 s.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Deeply lonely in the borderland between childhood and adulthood - Experiences of existential loneliness as narrated by adolescents.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
- An exploration of person-centred approach in end-of-life care policies in England and Japan.BMC palliative care · 2022Article
- Understanding Wildlife Crime from Eco-Existential and African Perspectives: A Psycho-Philosophical Investigation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- A Conceptual Review of Loneliness in Adults: Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Navigating the Unseen: Healthcare Support Staff's Perception of Existential Loneliness Among Older Migrants.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
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4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMoving into a long-term care facility (LTCF) can reduce the ability for older adults to engage in meaningful roles and activities and the size of their social network. These changes and losses can lead them to experience existential loneliness (EL)-the intolerable emptiness and lack of meaningful existence resulted from the losses they have experienced. While EL has often been understood as a universal human experience, it has primarily been studied in people from Western cultures; little is known about how EL may be experienced by and manifested in people from Eastern cultures. Hence, this qualitative study aimed to describe the experience and coping of EL in Hong Kong Chinese and Swedish older adults living in LTCFs.
methodsA qualitative study using Thorne's (2004) interpretive description was conducted. Thirteen Chinese and 9 Swedes living in LTCFs in Hong Kong, China and Malmo, Sweden, respectively were interviewed about their experience of EL in two series of semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
resultsThe core theme of "overcoming EL" described the participants' experience of EL, which came about through the combined process of "Feeling EL" and "Self-Regulating". Both Chinese and Swedish participants had similar experience with EL. Realizing that they did not want to living with EL anymore, they coped by reframing their experience and identifying new meaning in their life.
conclusionsThe study findings suggested that early and clear counselling support that help older adults to define new meaning in life may help them cope. In addition, more opportunities should be available at the LTCFs to promote quality relationships, enable older adults to reflect on their lives with pride, and support their ability to do the things they enjoy.
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