An examination of concepts of loneliness, and how to determine loneliness in theory and practice. 

Line Bang-Olsen and Christina Kaarup Rasmussen, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, each received a study grant of DKK 25.000 for their master’s thesis work.

In their thesis, Line Bang-Olsen and Christina Kaarup Rasmussen apply a combination of quantitative data processing and qualitative interviews with six older persons. They find that loneliness is often characterized by the question of whether a person suffers from ‘unwanted solitude’.

The thesis discusses methods of measuring loneliness, introducing a range of criteria that encompass up to 37 questions in order to identify various aspects of loneliness. Recommendations are that practitioners and researchers alike should apply a more nuanced approach than has been the case in Denmark so far.