Loneliness, depression, and sociability in old age in India

Running Head: LDS in old age in India 0
Loneliness, depression, and sociability in old age in India

LDS in old age in India 1
Introduction
The current scenario as regards to older people clearly indicates that the numbers have
increased over the past few periods globally. Many individuals experience depression and
loneliness in elderly age, due to the absence of close family bonding, which influences the
incapability to take part in societal activities. Loneliness can be stated as the biggest enemy of
elderly people, which is strongly related to poor health. With growing age, individuals are
unable to develop a bond with others. It is believed that older people are more focused on
religious beliefs and convictions as it provides a sort of social support. In addition to that
support, love, and care from family is also necessary. Their more frequent love and affection
can decrease the feeling of loneliness in older people (Acharya & Northcott, 2007).
Aging can be determined as a gradual decline of psychological function with age and
continues throughout the lifetime. It signifies the closing period when people strike back on
the lives of the achievement done in past and begins to complete his life-course. It has been
stated that a positive relationship of someone’s religious conviction, self-efficacy, social
relationship, socio-economic status, perceived health, and managing skills, among others,
with the capability to achieve more successfully (Angold, Erkanli, Silberg, Eaves & Costello,
2002).
In India depression is also a leading condition among elderly people, with an impact
on quality of life. It has been described that symptoms of depression increases with age as an
indicator of psychological health and identified as substantial pointers of longevity and
functional health. Depression has a causal relation to several physical, psychological, and
social issues. These issues frequently develop in older people, which enhance the possibility
of depression, as it is not a normal concern of the problem. As older people have better-
coping capabilities to deal with the depression in comparison of younger generations. They
do not have that stamina to decrease the level of depression, which affects their lives largely.
The beginning of depression occurs in an earlier stage in which there is the possibility of
occurring in respect to personality, genetic, and life experience issues that have contributed to
the depression. In the case when depression occurs in later life then there is the possibility of
dealing with some physical problems. An older age people having good physical fitness have
a comparatively low risk of depression to those have high-risk of depression whose physical
health is not so promising (Arean, Perri, Nezu, Schein, Christopher & Joseph, 1993). Physical

LDS in old age in India 2
health and fitness is a major factor of depression in old-age people. There are several causes
of depression, which involves the social impacts of living with a disability and sickness; the
impacts of chronic illness, the impacts of medications, which cause depression. It affects
directly on the internal activities and the social restraints that some sickness came across
older age people’s lifestyle leads to loneliness and isolation. It substantially raises the risk of
death in older age people, majorly by unnatural causes and cardiovascular disease (Bergdahl,
Allard, Lundman & Gustafson, 2007).
Loneliness is a negative sense of feeling associated with the individual own
experience of social relations. It is based on the two determinants, which are described as an
external factor, which is lacking in the social association and the primary cause of loneliness;
and the second one is an internal factor, such as psychological and personality factors. It may
tend to critical health issues, which in turn lead to depression and a significant cause of
suicide and suicidal attempts. It is concerned to dissatisfaction with social and family
relationships, poor psychological adjustment, and work-related issues (Bhat & Dhruvarajan,
2001).
Loneliness is also because of Hypertension, which is divided into two parts i.e.
primary hypertension in which the problem is unable to discover, as it is deep-rooted and
secondary hypertension in which kidney disease is the most common cause of hypertension
(Boyd & Ellison, 2007).
Sociability plays a vital part in safeguarding the individual from the experience of
emotional sickness and in improving health. It helps in reducing depressive symptoms levels,
which are stated as lower socioeconomic status, increasing age, reducing the quality of social
relations, and minority racial or ethnic status. Indians are very much concerned about losing
relationships, which are very much important to them. Indians people are involved with an
optimistic attitude, which is to be less influenced by everyday problems and a higher extent
of independence and control. As, for older people, time spent with family is equally
important with a visit to someone of their age. It is pointing the fact that networks and
associations’ plays a major role in reducing the stress and tension and build harmony among
all relationship. This will create a long-term bonding and reduces the level of depression. It
concentrates to reduce the risk of deaths by survey and review by all researchers. It stresses
the need for control over the social connection as a means of removing loneliness (Campbell,
Cumming & Hughes, 2006). Thus, it needs to be controlled as loneliness and depression play

LDS in old age in India 3
a major part transforming to severe disease and even death. In the following, an effort has
been made to discuss further the topics as Review of Literature, which states the research
objectives and summary of the factors affecting depression, loneliness in older age people.
After that, Research Methodology, which states the sample size, sampling method covered in
the research. In the end, the discussion has been made to study the mechanism of dealing and
coping with the issues in older people and support the point with the authors’ statement
(Debasish, Prakash, Jaspreet & Suresh, 2004).
Review of Literature
Introduction
This chapter studies the connection between loneliness, depression, and sociability in
elderly people in India and influences the mental health issues to have on their lives. It
indicates the rate of loneliness, depression, sociability in elderly people in India living in
residential aged care facilities (RACFs). It examines gender differences in regards to
sociability, depression, and loneliness among older people in India (Dill & Anderson, 1999).
This chapter attempts to review the current studies on this topic. It attempts to study some of
the empirical literature and relevant understanding of the topic. In the following, an effort has
been made to discuss the meaning & concept, elaborate reasons of loneliness, depression, and
sociability in elderly people, and provide ways to improve in India
Meaning and Concept of the Loneliness, depression, and sociability in older people
According to Green (1992), loneliness is stated as the negative feeling related to
social relations. It is lack of substantial relationship with people or incapability to have close
connections. It is the unwelcome feeling of loss or absence of companionship. It affects the
physical and mental health of older people that leads to slower recovery from stroke and
enhances the frequency of the emergency hospitalization, which contributes to anxiety and
depression.
According to Kennedy (1996), depression is positively correlated with physical
disorders. Numerous reviews have stated that depressive symptoms increase with older age It
can be diagnosed based on several symptoms, for example, the decline in interest and
pleasure, exhaustion, depressed mood, fatigue and loss of energy, sleeplessness, lowered self-
esteem, insomnia, or hypersomnia, and loss of attention capacity and suicidal thoughts.

LDS in old age in India 4
According to Hanson & Carpenter (1994), Sociability is defined as the loss of a
significant relationship can tend to the feeling of depression and emptiness. Those without
relationship frequently become ignore, depressed, and isolated. Poor relationship inclines to
maintain and develop negative perceptions of self, finds that it is less satisfying, and often
leads to the motivation of change.
Loneliness, depression, and Sociability are critical mental health problems among
elderly people in India. Although, separate situations, which are interrelated and share similar
symptoms. Loneliness is a negative feeling when there is a diverse relationship among people
expectations and social association. Older people might experience loneliness even if other
people enclose them. There are no specific criteria for identifying loneliness in older age
people, as each may perceive loneliness in a different way. Indicators such as weight gain &
loss, disturbed sleep, reduced interest in social activities, and reduced satisfaction from the
social association, often indicate it.
According to Singh & Mishra (2009), depression is a mental disorder that can present
with anxiety and loneliness. In later life, it can range to mild depression to major depression.
The review of Poser (1995), aimed at that older individual tends to make relationship
largely along the same age group. Thus, with growing age, it is predictable that they lose their
friendship and they find it hard to build new friends and belong to the new network. Building
new friendship can give happiness and an immense pleasure as they share their problems,
family issues, and emotions, which lessen the burden and generate peace. The vast number of
old age people is enhancing all over India. As they grow older, they faced many changes that
encounter the wisdom of self-capacity to live happily. Depression and loneliness are reflected
as the key problem directing to decreased quality of life among old age people. They can also
be given an opportunity for making new friends, spending more time in companionship with
God, discovering new interests, and developing new ways of service. The elderly people can
be happy and sad, which is depending upon the grace and faith of the person. As a result, the
study was coordinated with the objective of reviewing the relationship and the understanding
in a group of old age in India. It has been described as a chronic phenomenon, which has
been identified as a strong correlation of depressive indicators by many studies. However,
this varies across the lifetime, the connection among loneliness and depressive symptoms,
which seems to be constant across ethnicity and age. In contrast, it is reviewed to decrease the
level and focuses on maintaining the relationship. It is also been found that loneliness is

LDS in old age in India 5
connected to depression, lower quality of life, and enhanced vulnerability to both mental and
physical problems of the older individual in India. Weiss has stated that loneliness is a
determination to get rid of one’s pain by incorporating a connection in depression.
According to Heikkinen and Kauppinen (2004), loneliness has been recognized as a
potential risk issue for depressive symptoms in longitudinal and cross-cultural studies of
older adults. It is related to a constellation of psychological and demographic risk factors
such as low mental support, perceived stress, and aggression. The mutually synergistic
connection of loneliness and the depressive symptoms are responsible for increasing
negatively in lonely and depressed people and suggest that interventions could reduce well-
being and emotional suffering.
According to Folkman and Lazarus (1980), Sociability in old age people in India is
the individual’s continuously changing cognitive and psychological efforts to maintain the
specific intrinsic and extrinsic demands that are evaluated as more than the individual
resources. The way the difficulties are faced directly impacts levels of health and
psychological well-being. Considerable variation is seen among the sociability strategies,
which are used by the lonely and the choices of strategies are affected by the cultural
background, people’ age, life experience, and the availability of methods of alleviating
loneliness. Previous studies have shown that common strategies include sad passivity,
enhanced activity denial, and distancing, active solitude, acceptance, and maintain social
contact. Past research aimed at cross-sectional study concerning the potential causal
relationship among loneliness and depressive symptoms or their uniqueness. It is limited
regarding the relationship between loneliness and sociability in older people. Thus, the
current study was designed with the aims of studying loneliness, depression, sociability in old
age in India and coping mechanism strategies to resolve and understand the relationship
between these factors.
Reasons of loneliness in old age in India
Loneliness has many different causes, which affects everyone differently in India.
Sometimes older people feel lonely because of the financial crises and poor family
environment. However, sometimes they experience a feeling that comes from within and does
not disappear, regardless of their social support. The factors that contribute to loneliness in
old age involves poor health, living alone in a residential home, increasing age, low level of
income, widowhood, low level of education, and infrequent contact with family & friends. In