Aging Alone (While Black): Living Alone, Loneliness, and Health Among Older Black Women

Increasingly, Black women are aging alone. Yet information about health correlates and the residential context where older Black women are aging-in-place is lacking. The current study examines one aspect of Aging While Black that affects Black women-living alone without close family or kin in the household - among a sample of older Black women (N = 890).

Using hierarchical linear models and data from the 2014/2015 and 2019 waves of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey, living alone status (e.g., Level 1) and area-level indicators of residential segregation and social capital (e.g., Level 2) are examined as correlates of self-rated health and loneliness.

Our findings indicate that while Black women live in primarily segregated areas, living alone is associated with lower odds of loneliness and has no relation to self-rated health. Additionally, area-level social capital is correlated with a lower likelihood of reported loneliness.

These results are somewhat contrary to the current aging-in-place literature that claims that living alone always contributes to social isolation, loneliness, and poorer health. For older Black women in urban settings, living alone may reflect independence rather than loneliness. Efforts to increase community supports and opportunities for maintaining social connectedness should be considered for future research and age-friendly policies.