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Dyadic perspectives on loneliness and social isolation among people with dementia and spousal carers: findings from the IDEAL programme

Rippon, Isla; Victor, Christina R.; Martyr, Anthony; Matthews, Fiona E.; Quinn, Catherine; Rusted, Jennifer M.; Jones, Roy W.; Collins, Rachel; van Horik, Jayden; Pentecost, Claire; Allan, Louise; Clare, Linda

Authors

Isla Rippon

Christina R. Victor

Anthony Martyr

Catherine Quinn

Jennifer M. Rusted

Roy W. Jones

Rachel Collins

Jayden van Horik

Claire Pentecost

Louise Allan

Linda Clare



Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the impact of self and partner experiences of loneliness and social isolation on life satisfaction in people with dementia and their spousal carers. Methods: We used data from 1042 dementia caregiving dyads in the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life (IDEAL) programme cohort. Loneliness was measured using the six-item De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale and social isolation using the six-item Lubben Social Network Scale. Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model framework. Results: Self-rated loneliness was associated with poorer life satisfaction for both people with dementia and carers. The initial partner effects observed between the loneliness of the carer and the life satisfaction of the person with dementia and between social isolation reported by the person with dementia and life satisfaction of the carer were reduced to nonsignificance once the quality of the relationship between them was considered. Discussion: Experiencing greater loneliness and social isolation is linked with reduced life satisfaction for people with dementia and carers. However, having a positive view of the quality of the relationship between them reduced the impact of loneliness and social isolation on life satisfaction. Findings suggest the need to consider the experiences of both the person with dementia and the carer when investigating the impact of loneliness and social isolation. Individual interventions to mitigate loneliness or isolation may enhance life satisfaction for both partners and not simply the intervention recipient.

Citation

Rippon, I., Victor, C. R., Martyr, A., Matthews, F. E., Quinn, C., Rusted, J. M., Jones, R. W., Collins, R., van Horik, J., Pentecost, C., Allan, L., & Clare, L. (in press). Dyadic perspectives on loneliness and social isolation among people with dementia and spousal carers: findings from the IDEAL programme. Aging and Mental Health, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2023.2286618

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 3, 2023
Online Publication Date Dec 11, 2023
Deposit Date Dec 12, 2023
Publicly Available Date Dec 14, 2023
Journal Aging and Mental Health
Print ISSN 1360-7863
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 1-9
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2023.2286618
Keywords Psychiatry and Mental health; Geriatrics and Gerontology; Gerontology; Pshychiatric Mental Health
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4482233

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.





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