Adults Living Alone at Higher Depression Risk Than Those Living With Others
Adults living alone had higher reported feelings of depression than adults living with others, according to recent findings from the cross-sectional National Health Statistics Report.
“These results highlight the potential vulnerability of certain groups … to adverse mental health effects associated with living alone,” study authors noted. “People living alone may be at greater risk of social isolation and loneliness, which have been linked to higher mortality risk and adverse health outcomes, including mental health outcomes, compared with people living with a spouse or partner.”
Researchers examined data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, conducted continuously throughout the year by the National Center for Health Statistics. Adults self-reported feelings of depression, their living arrangements (living alone vs. with others), sociodemographic characteristics, and their social and emotional support. Depressed feelings were gauged by 2 questions developed by Washington Group on Disability Statistics.
Authors noted that 16% of adults lived alone in 2021, and reported feelings of depression were higher among adults living alone (6.4%) compared with adults living with others (4.1%). This proportion was the same across race, gender, and income lines. Adults who reported never or rarely receiving social and emotional support and living alone were almost twice as likely to report feelings of depression than those never or rarely receiving social and emotional support and living with others (19.6% compared with 11.6%, respectively). Of all adults living alone, 39.2% were ages 65 or older, while only 18.9% of those 65+ lived with others.
“Further, this report explores differences in feelings of depression by living arrangement during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that highlighted concerns about mental health and the implications of social isolation,” authors concluded. “Social and emotional support has been shown to be protective of health and this finding suggests that additional studies could examine the relationship between social and emotional support, living alone, and health outcomes.”