Loneliness in Black elderly

Loneliness was investigated in three groups of Black elderly people. Groups consisted of Married, Widowed, and Never Married. The deJong-Giervald Loneliness Scale was used to measure loneliness on the none subscales that make up the instrument. These subscales measured the extent: of feelings of deprivation concerning a partner (L1); of feelings of emptiness or lack of companionship (L2); of feelings of abandonment (L3); of rationalization of personal loneliness (L4); of self-pity (L5); to which loneliness is perceived as permanent (L6); to which is perceived as temporary (L7); to which it is perceived that loneliness can be solved by one's own activities (L8); of resignation to loneliness (L9). Significant differences between scores were found in only two subscales. These were numbers L4 and L6. On each of these subscales, Widowed and Other Married groups, which were mostly composed of women, had the lowest mean scores. This reflects the likelihood that these groups use rationalization to cope with the negative effects of loneliness, and this is sex-specific. Findings also reflect that unmarried Black elderly, especially females, may feel hopeless about being lonely. Recommendations made for further studies include using larger and more heterogeneous samples as well as different ethnic groups.