Adult Loneliness Narratives Recount Exposure to Relational Loss, Rejection, Emotional Absence, and Excessive Labor: A Critical Realist Approach to Thematic Analysis
Dados Bibliográficos
| AUTOR(ES) | |
|---|---|
| AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | Department of Health Systems, Management and Policy, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA, College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA, Department of Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA |
| ANO | 2025 |
| TIPO | Artigo |
| PERIÓDICO | International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| ISSN | 1609-4069 |
| E-ISSN | 1609-4069 |
| DOI | 10.1177/16094069251362615 |
| ADICIONADO EM | 2025-08-18 |
Resumo
The U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory on America's loneliness epidemic defines loneliness as a discrepancy in relationship quality linked to higher risk for severe mental illness. It is unclear what is meant by relationship quality and how these qualities would scale large enough to produce a loneliness epidemic. Methods: We used a critical realist approach to thematic analysis, to examine quality in social interactions and underlying causes, during experiences when adults said they were lonely. Secondary data came from 219 online, open-ended survey responses by anonymous adults about loneliness, made publicly available by The Loneliness Project in 2018. Results: Grieving Relational Loss, Rejection of Who I Truly Am, Present But Emotionally Absent, and Excessive Labor, were four themes found to define poor qualities contributing to feelings of loneliness. Being cared for was the only theme to define a positive quality that was desired during loneliness experiences. Poor qualities in contrast to one positive quality defined the discrepancy in relationship quality in our study sample. Conclusions: These results specify quality concerns in adults' social environments that can highlight what's important for intervention in a broad range of social experiences. They suggest ways that policy and/or institutional interventions can consider structural changes to reduce adult loneliness.