Survey: Women and older people most likely to feel lonely

Women and older people get the blues more often than the rest of the population, a new survey has found.

The study, commissioned by the Department of Health, discovered higher levels of positive mental health among men, young people and those with higher levels of education and income.

However the Mental Health and Social Well-being Report found 14% of respondents admitted being “often lonely” in the previous four weeks.

Women, older people and those in lower social class groups reported the highest levels of loneliness in the survey.

“Loneliness is found to be a predictor of psychological distress and lower levels of quality of life and positive mental health,” added a spokeswoman for the findings.

The survey was carried out by a research team involving NUI Galway, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the Economic and Social Research Institute and University College Cork.

Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 10,364 respondents – the largest national survey to date on mental health and social well-being in the Irish adult population.

Minister of State for Health Mary Wallace said the results would provide important national level data to guide public policy on mental health issues.

“Promoting and protecting population mental health contributes to the functioning of individuals, communities and society and reduces the social and economic burden of mental disorders,” said Ms Wallace.

Other findings include:

:: Men and young people report higher levels of positive mental health than women.

:: Some 7% reported experiencing serious psychological distress in the past four weeks.

:: About 47 respondents (0.4%) reported deliberately harming themselves in the previous 12 months.

:: Some 55% of respondents stated that they regularly participate in community activities.

:: The biggest neighbourhood gripes reported included poor public transport, litter, burglaries, vandalism and lack of public spaces.