Lonely SARTs: loneliness and sustained attention in the Irish longitudinal study of aging

ABSTRACT

Based on biologically plausible mechanisms and previous research, it is possible to hypothesize a reciprocal association between sustained attention and loneliness. We investigated this association using a cross-lagged modeling approach. Using data from 6,239 participants aged over 50 in TILDA, a nationally representative study of aging, we used structural equation models to investigate potential cross-lagged associations between sustained attention and loneliness, measured at baseline and again after four years. Sustained attention at baseline had a small association with loneliness four years later, but loneliness at baseline was not associated with sustained attention at follow-up. Auto-regressive associations were strong for both loneliness over time and sustained attention over time. Sustained attention may account for a small proportion of the variance in loneliness over time among older adults, and may constitute a risk factor in the development of loneliness. Implications for the identification of at-risk individuals and the prevention of loneliness are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive
• cross-lagged
• structural equation modelling
• observational

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank members of the TILDA team who gave critical review to the manuscript during its preparation, and particularly to Professor Ian Robertson, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by a grant received by the corresponding author from the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland, in the form of a Leadership in Ageing Research Fellowship. TILDA is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, Irish Life, and the Department of Health in Ireland.