Strategies to prevent loneliness

Introduction
On the basis of surveys in the Netherlands and the UK, it is estimated that about 20 percent of all adult men and women are mildly lonely. Another 8 to 10 percent is intensely lonely (Van Tilburg, & De Jong Gierveld, 2007; Victor et al., 2005). In this context, it is important to take into account the different types of loneliness that people might experience. Weiss (1973) differentiated emotional loneliness related to the absence of an intimate figure, and social loneliness related to the absence of a broader, engaging social network. In general intense loneliness is related more to emotional than to social loneliness, while the combination of both places people at risk of the most intense, despairing loneliness (Van Tilburg, & De Jong Gierveld, 2007). Intensely lonely people frequently specify their loneliness situation as one of emptiness and feeling rejected, a disconnection from important people and from today’s society: ...