Gender Differentials in Prevalence of Loneliness among Older Adults in India: an Analysis from WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health

Loneliness is defined as practical and cognitive discomfort or uneasiness from being or perceiving oneself to be alone. This study attempts to understand the effect of household and individual characteristics on gender differentials in loneliness among older adults in India. The data used was carved out from WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (Wave-1), India conducted in 2007-08. To fulfil the objective, we used data on 6,532 adults aged 50 years and above and applied bivariate analysis along with logistic regression and showed interaction between potential determinants which can explain gender differentials in loneliness. Nearly 18% of older adults in India (16% of men and 20% of women) reported suffering from loneliness in 2007–08. Women who were household-head had 60% higher likelihood of reporting loneliness than men who were household head. Women who were either separated/divorced/widowed/never married had higher (AOR: 1.26; p < 0.05) likelihood of reporting loneliness than that of separated/divorced/widowed/never-married men. Additionally, retired women had (AOR: 1.22; p < 0.05) higher likelihood of reporting loneliness in comparison to retired men. Lastly, women who had lesser social participation had higher odds for reporting loneliness than men who were lesser socially active (AOR: 1.69; p < 0.05). The study concludes that intersectionality persists in loneliness among older-adult women with their marital status, work and social participation. The old aged programmes should focus on widowed/separated/divorced/never married, retired, socially inactive older adults with special focus on women.