Unraveling the Relationship between Gender, Loneliness, Emotional dampening, Life satisfaction, and Depressive symptomatology in Dutch Older Adults

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between gender, (social and emotional) loneliness, emotional dampening, life satisfaction and depressive symptomatology in Dutch adults aged 70 and over (N = 170). Beforehand, it was hypothesized that social loneliness would be more apparent in women than in men. Furthermore, emotional loneliness, emotional dampening, and preference for solitude would be more prevalent in men than in women. Also, the association between gender and depressive symptomatology would be partially mediated by emotional dampening, preference for solitude, and loneliness, and the association between gender and life satisfaction would be fully mediated by preference for solitude and loneliness. An independent t test and mediation analyses were used to assess these hypotheses. The results show no relationship between gender, social and emotional loneliness (respectively p = .140, p = .149), emotional dampening (p = .154), and preference for solitude (p = .660). Furthermore, the association between gender and depressive symptomatology was not partially mediated by emotional dampening (b = -.10, BCa CI [-0.344, 0.01]), preference for solitude (b = .01, BCa CI [-0.030, 0.128]), and loneliness (b =.29, BCa CI [-0.016, 0.693]. Also, the association between gender and life satisfaction was not mediated by preference for solitude (b = -.00, BCa CI [-0.015, 0.036]) and loneliness (b = -.11, BCa CI [-0.257, 0.002]). Future research should examine whether these results are incidental findings, or that gender differences in loneliness, emotional dampening, preference for solitude, depressive symptomatology, and life satisfaction in older adults are not as prevalent as it is thought.