How Is One's Own and (Ex‐)Partner's Professional Prestige Associated With Loneliness and Isolation? Findings Based on Cross‐Sectional Data From Middle‐Aged and Older Adults Living in Germany in 2022/2023
André Hajek, Larissa Zwar, Razak M. Gyasi, Dong Keon Yon, Hans Oh, Pinar Soysal, Supa Pengpid, Karl Peltzer and Hans‐Helmut König
loneliness occupational prestige occupational reputation professional esteem professional prestige professional reputation social isolation
Background and Aims: Thus far, very little is known about the association between occupational prestige and loneliness. Thus, our aim was to investigate how (1) one's own professional prestige, (2) the professional prestige of one's partner and (3)
the professional standing of one's last spouse (for those without a spouse) are associated with loneliness and isolation.
Methods: Data were used from the most recent wave of the nationally representative German Ageing Survey including individuals aged 43 years and above residing in private settings (wave 8, n = 3059 individuals; average age was 67.0 years, 52.2% female). Psychometrically sound instruments were used to measure the key variables. Sociodemographic, lifestyle‐ and health‐ related covariates were added to the linear regression model.
Results: Higher own professional prestige was associated with lower loneliness and social isolation scores. In contrast, the professional prestige of one's partner and the professional standing of the last spouse (for those without a spouse) were both not significantly associated with loneliness and social isolation.
Conclusion: Data suggest that one's own favorable professional prestige was associated with lower loneliness and social isolation levels, whereas the professional prestige of the (ex‐)partner was unrelated to such social factors. Future longitudinal studies should analyze whether changing to a job with more professional prestige might be associated with changes in loneliness and social isolation.
Details
Title
How Is One's Own and (Ex‐)Partner's Professional Prestige Associated With Loneliness and Isolation? Findings Based on Cross‐Sectional Data From Middle‐Aged and Older Adults Living in Germany in 2022/2023
Creators
André Hajek - University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
Larissa Zwar - Brock University
Razak M. Gyasi - African Population and Health Research Center
Dong Keon Yon - Kyung Hee University Medical Center
Hans Oh - University of Southern California
Pinar Soysal - Bezmialem Vakif University (Turkey, Istanbul)
Supa Pengpid - Mahidol University
Karl Peltzer - Mahidol University
Hans‐Helmut König - University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
Publication Details
Health science reports, Vol.8(10), pp.1-8
Publisher
Wiley Periodicals LLC.; HOBOKEN
Grant note
We acknowledge financial support from the Open Access Publication Fund of UKE ‐ Universitätsklinikum Hamburg‐Eppendorf.