ArticlePerspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science2023
Understanding and Addressing Older Adults' Loneliness: The Social Relationship Expectations Framework.
Article in Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07021872 (Reducing Loneliness Among Older Adults Through Enhancing Positive Affect), which is not on this map. Cited by 53 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Reducing Loneliness Among Older Adults Through Enhancing Positive Affect: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Ecological Momentary Assessments
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of AI-based conversational and socially assistive agents in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Belongingness and loneliness in higher education: a meta-analysis of pre- and post-pandemic trends.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- How perceiving pace of social change affects loneliness: psychological obsolescence as predictor for loneliness in late-life sample.European journal of ageing · 2026Article
- Social connection and living with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A qualitative analysis.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Chasing Happily Ever After: Psychometric Development and Nomological Validation of the Rescue Fantasy Beliefs Scale.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The relationship between loneliness, depressive symptoms, and self-perception of ageing among older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Longitudinal associations among loneliness and physical and psychological well-being in older cancer survivors.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
- Understanding the Association Between Substance Use and Loneliness in Midlife and Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Association of loneliness and perceived social exclusion with donation behavior among community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and over: longitudinal evidence from the nationally representative German Ageing Survey.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Observational
- Loneliness and cognitive decline among U.S. adults: A stratified analysis of the BRFSS.PloS one · 2026Article
- Loneliness among older adults with chronic diseases and multimorbidity: a scoping review of prevalence and associated factors.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Loneliness and coping strategies in older adults in nursing homes in the Northern region of Malaysia: A mixed-method study.PloS one · 2026Article
- The prevalence and influence of self-reported loneliness in the older with community-acquired pneumonia: a multi-center cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Development of the Social Relationship Expectations Scale: protocol for a multi-country, multi-method observational study.BMJ open · 2025Observational
- 'Care Beyond Co-Residence': A Qualitative Exploration of Emotional and Instrumental Care Gaps Among Older Adults in Migrant Households of Kerala.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The Psychology of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Later Life.Clinics in geriatric medicine · 2025Review
- The Mediating Role of Health Empowerment in the Relationship Between Social Support and Loneliness Among Nursing Home Residents: A Correlational Study.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Ecological Momentary Assessment to Measure Social Connectedness in Older Adults: Integrative Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- Four-Year Loneliness Trajectory and Its Predictors in Older Adults.The Gerontologist · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Loneliness is an experience resulting from a perceived discrepancy between expected and actual social relationships. Although this discrepancy is widely considered the "core mechanism" of loneliness, previous research and interventions have not sufficiently addressed what older adults specifically expect from their social relationships. To address this gap and to help situate research on older adults' loneliness within broader life span developmental theories, we propose a theoretical framework that outlines six key social relationship expectations of older adults based on research from psychology, gerontology, and anthropology: availability of social contacts, receiving care and support, intimacy and understanding, enjoyment and shared interests, generativity and contribution, and being respected and valued. We further argue that a complete understanding of loneliness across the life span requires attention to the powerful impacts of contextual factors (e.g., culture, functional limitations, social network changes) on the expression and fulfillment of older adults' universal and age-specific relationship expectations. The proposed Social Relationship Expectations Framework may fruitfully inform future loneliness research and interventions for a heterogeneous aging population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.