Emily Graham: Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs – Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion & Population Health · Issue Brief #59 December 6, 2022 KEY TAKEAWAYS: Veterans are at a high risk for social isolation and loneliness, and poor mental and physical health; Separation from service, loss of social support, and difficulty forming …
Loneliness was deemed a behavioral epidemic even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent social distancing policy measures have raised concerns about increased social isolation and loneliness, especially in vulnerable populations such as military veterans. However, little is known about the impact of the pandemic on longitudinal changes in loneliness in …
Suicide rates among the United States public have been increasing for the past twenty years, but among active military personnel and veterans of the post-9/11 wars, the suicide rate is even higher, outpacing average Americans. The “post-9/11 wars” refers to ongoing U.S.-led military operations around the world that grew out of President George W. Bush’s …
Description of Measure: A 20-item scale designed to measure one’s subjective feelings of loneliness as well as feelings of social isolation. Participants rate each item on a scale from 1 (Never) to 4 (Often). This measure is a revised version of both the original UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. The first …
The potentially harmful effects of loneliness and social isolation on health and longevity, especially among older adults, are well established. For example, in 2013 I reported on research finding that loneliness can impair health by raising levels of stress hormones and inflammation, which in turn can increase the risk of heart disease, arthritis, Type 2 …
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · June 2013 Conclusions: Loneliness is prevalent among older veterans in the United States, and associated with several health and psychosocial variables. These results suggest that multifactorial interventions that emphasize bolstering of social support and reduction of depressive symptoms may help mitigate loneliness in the rapidly growing population of older veterans. (Am J Geriatric Psychiatry 2013)
