Roles of Self-Stigma and Meaning in the Relationship Between Age and Loneliness: A Perspective From Gerotranscendence

Drawing on the theory of gerotranscendence, this research aimed to gain a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the age-loneliness relationship and underlying factors. Data from the BBC Loneliness Experiment (n = 6875, 67.80% female, M_age = 49.26, Range_age 16-94) were analyzed using polynomial regression and Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling (MG-SEM) for the quantitative data, and complemented by Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for free-text data. The results showed: (1) there was a non-linear, inverted U-shaped relationship between age and loneliness, with an inflection point at 39.2 years of age; (2) in the older age group, loneliness self-stigma and the meaning of loneliness played parallel mediating roles between age and loneliness, whereas no mediating effect was observed in the younger age group; (3) these mediating effects primarily attenuated the loneliness frequency and loneliness intensity rather than loneliness duration; (4) two overarching topics of loneliness (i.e., Limited Social Functions and Unsatisfactory Social Relationships) were identified, with differences between the two age groups. This study further enriches the understanding of gerotranscendence in the loneliness domain and provides suggestions for tailoring precision interventions (i.e., self-stigma, meaning-making) to distinct life stages and specific loneliness dimensions.