[Admission to a home for the aged; a solution for the lonely aged?]

The suitability of criteria on the base of which elderly are admitted to residential homes is a topic of current debate. The present research project explored the significance of the criterion of 'loneliness'. Data for this study were obtained from interviews with elderly inhabitants of Alkmaar. Individuals who spontaneously mentioned loneliness as an argument for admittance, as well as individuals who provided other criteria only, were part of the sample. In addition the respondents were classified according to gender, and to (still) living independently versus living in an institution. The data revealed that the elderly who spontaneously mentioned loneliness in their application differed in a number of ways from the other individuals in the sample. For example, their average scores on (validated) loneliness measuring instruments were significantly higher in the period prior to admittance to a residential institution. After admittance no significant differences in loneliness scores could be found between people who had previously mentioned loneliness as an argument and those who had not.