為什么我們當中越來越多的人會感到比以往任何時候都孤立無援

為什么我們當中越來越多的人會感到比以往任何時候都孤立無援

Despite popular belief, baby boomers between 55 and 75 aren't more lonely than prior generations, according to two new studies published Tuesday by the American Psychological Association.

美國心理學會周二公布的兩項新研究顯示，盡管人們普遍認為，55歲至75歲的嬰兒潮一代并不比前幾代人更孤獨。

But that doesn't mean we won't have a loneliness epidemic in the future, as the baby-boomer population continues to age and younger generations struggle with feelings of isolation.

但這并不意味著我們在未來不會有孤獨流行病，因為嬰兒潮時期出生的人口繼續(xù)老齡化，年輕一代正在與孤獨的感覺作斗爭。

"While the data show we don't need to worry, at this point at least, that our older adults are suffering loneliness at rates higher than they have been suffering in the past, the concern about loneliness is real," said lead author Louise Hawkley, a senior scientist at the nonpartisan research organization NORC at the University of Chicago.

“盡管數(shù)據(jù)顯示我們不需要擔心,至少在這一點上,我們的老年人痛苦孤獨利率高于過去他們一直痛苦,孤獨的擔憂是真實的,”主要作者路易斯哈克利說,一個無黨派研究機構的資深科學家NORC芝加哥大學。

"It has real consequences for health, for wellbeing, for cognition," she added. "So we can't ignore it. We just need to get smarter about how we deal with loneliness."

“它對健康、幸福感和認知能力都有真正的影響，”她補充道。“所以我們不能忽視它。我們只是需要更聰明地對待孤獨。”

No loneliness 'epidemic'

沒有孤獨“流行病”

Google "loneliness" and you'll see the word "epidemic" widely used. That got Hawkley and her team at NORC (formerly called the National Opinion Research Center) interested in looking at two national databases on aging to see just how true that was.

谷歌（搜索）“孤獨”，你會看到“流行病”這個詞被廣泛使用。這讓哈克利和她在NORC(以前叫做國家意見研究中心)的團隊有興趣研究兩個關于老齡化的國家數(shù)據(jù)庫，看看這到底有多真實。

"Headlines have said there's been an uptick in loneliness, likely because research shows more people are not married, aren't civically or socially involved and are living alone," Hawkley said. "But our data found loneliness decreased from age 50 to about the mid-70s."

哈克利說:“新聞標題說，孤獨感正在上升，這可能是因為研究表明，更多的人沒有結婚，沒有社會交往，獨自生活。”“但我們的數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)，從50歲到70歲左右，孤獨感有所下降。”

At that point, however, prior studies show that resilience to loneliness begins to decline. Loneliness peaks as people age into their 80s and 90s, or what's called the "oldest-old."

然而，之前的研究表明，在那個時候，人們對孤獨的適應力開始下降。隨著人們步入八九十歲，也就是所謂的“最高齡”，孤獨感會達到頂峰。

The baby boomer population in the United States was born between 1946 and 1964 and totals about 75 million people. The oldest boomers are currently 73, the age in which research shows levels of loneliness begin to rise.

美國嬰兒潮時期出生的人口出生于1946年至1964年之間，總數(shù)約為7500萬人。年齡最大的嬰兒潮一代現(xiàn)在已經73歲了，研究表明，這個年齡的人的孤獨感開始上升。

"That means the total number of older adults who are lonely may increase once the baby boomers reach their late 70s and 80s," Hawkley said.

“這意味著，一旦嬰兒潮時期出生的人到了七八十歲，孤獨的老年人總數(shù)可能會增加，” 哈克利說。

A sense of control is key

控制感是關鍵

A second study, based in the Netherlands, also found no current loneliness epidemic in a Dutch population aged 55 and older.

在荷蘭進行的另一項研究也發(fā)現(xiàn)，目前荷蘭55歲及以上的人群中并沒有普遍存在孤獨感。

Despite the fact that social communities such as churches, neighborhoods and extended families have declined in strength in recent decades, the study found Dutch adults in their 50s and 60s were actually less lonely than prior generations, although the decrease was small.

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，盡管教堂、社區(qū)和大家庭等社會群體的力量在近幾十年來有所減弱，但五六十歲的荷蘭成年人實際上并不像前幾代人那么孤獨，盡管這種減弱幅度很小。

Dutch adults from later-born groups had better cognitive functioning and more diverse social networks than those born earlier. While that wasn't surprising, the study also found that a sense of control -- or mastery -- over one's life had a significant impact on how lonely a person felt.

荷蘭出生較晚的成年人比出生較早的人有更好的認知功能和更多樣化的社交網絡。雖然這并不奇怪，但研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，對生活的掌控感對一個人的孤獨感有重要影響。

"Older adults today need to develop problem-solving and goal-setting skills to sustain satisfying relationships and to reduce loneliness," said lead author Bianca Suanet, an associate professor of sociology at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, in a statement.

研究報告的主要撰寫者、阿姆斯特丹自由大學的社會學副教授比安卡•蘇安內特在一份聲明中說:“如今的老年人需要培養(yǎng)解決問題和設定目標的技能，以維持令人滿意的人際關系，減少孤獨感。”