According to Statistics Korea, single-person households are expected to increase from 25 percent in 2020 to 51.6 percent in 2050 among those aged over 65. As the rates of the Global Aging Index are skyrocketing, the need for adequate welfare measures for seniors living alone can never be stressed enough. However, that is by no means everything when it comes to managing chronic loneliness. Pointing out that chronic loneliness could be identified in not only those disconnected from society but also those within communities, Professor Kim Jinho (Division of Health Policy and Management) published a novel study to explain the relationship between chronic loneliness and physical strength.

In November 2022, Professor Kim published his 55th article “Chronic Loneliness, Gender, and Trajectories of Change in Hand Grip Strength among Older Adults in Korea,” revealing that chronic loneliness aggravates health conditions, with the effects being especially worse for men. This study received academic recognition for considering both the chronicity of loneliness and social determinants such as Korean masculinity. Due to his painstaking effort, his article was published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, an official journal of The Gerontological Society of America.

Chronic Loneliness, Physical Strength, and Gender

Having started his career at Korea University (KU) in 2019, Professor Kim is an assistant professor at Korea University (KU) and concurrently a faculty associate in the Center for Demography and Health and Aging (CDHA). As a sociologist and demographer, Professor Kim applies his keen perspectives on social determinants of health to make causal inferences. Likewise, Professor Kim used a nationally representative sample from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) and improved the absence of generalizability in previous studies.

In the biological approach, the study proposes that chronic loneliness results in increased cortisol levels that impair biological functions, coinciding with the deterioration of physical capacity to buffer against stressors due to aging. Professor Kim also points out the vulnerability of this state, adding that it “eventually incurs the seniors to attempt health-risk behaviors, such as unhealthy eating habits, severe drinking, and increased dependency on cigarettes.” As a result, these behaviors raise physical health problems, which the study identified through the observation of hand grip strength.

A Deep Dive into Chronic Loneliness

Professor Kim accentuates the link between traditional gender roles and norms, and how respective genders deal with chronic loneliness by analyzing distinctive features among South Korean seniors. The severity of chronic loneliness among men shows a similar frame shown in American playwright Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman, where the protagonist is burdened with the social pressure of having to be the sole breadwinner of his family. As male seniors were socially assigned to maintain households according to tradition, they were apt to lose their identity — their so-called “masculinity” — after retirement. Those who were once portrayed as symbols of independence and autonomy, according to Professor Kim, naturally become isolated from the workforce society. In contrast, traditional women’s identities and norms enabled them to be relatively prone to self-disclosure which lead to increase help-seeking behavior.

In addition, this study also implies that loneliness should be considered a psychological cause that could affect seniors on a long-term basis, rather than a temporary factor. Unlike prior studies that have researched various effects caused by short-term loneliness, Professor Kim’s research connotes the necessity to consider social environments beyond medical issues in terms of health problems. Professor Kim added that “I believe that alleviating chronic loneliness would, in a way, lead to improving physical health. Thus, considering physical health merely as a medical factor is a very short-sighted and narrow-minded approach.” Thus, the study verifies a novel perspective to view chronic loneliness as an upstream factor of health implications.

Seeing Eye to Eye

Pioneering a new perspective to view loneliness as a serious problem, this research implies that the government should consider psychological and physical health from a holistic perspective. As it is neither possible to eradicate the conventional stigma nor eliminate loneliness per se, it may be more effective to alleviate such emotions or prevent them from becoming chronic. As there is a limited budget that funds these measures, Professor Kim points out how respective genders are coping with chronic loneliness. He states that “in order to minimize such emotions, it would be better for the government to offer male seniors abundant social resources and social opportunities where they can identify their roles in society. Meanwhile, research on heterogeneity and personalized care should be offered to female seniors, not falling into the catch in average.” Even though solutions may vary, providing emotional care and support should be prioritized, encouraging seniors to feel like a part of the community.

In addition, it may be possible for the research to give insight into developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to be utilized in supplying solidarity for socially disconnected seniors. CLOVA CareCall, a service first implemented in Busan in November 2021, allows AI to check the safety of elders who live alone via phone and talk freely as companions. Questions asked by the service include “Did you go to the hospital you mentioned earlier? Were there any health issues?” and so forth. As observable by the fact that 90 percent of users have reported feeling consoled while using the service according to NAVER CLOVA, AI has much potential to solve chronic loneliness in the gerontological field, although it needs a more fine-tuned approach to be fully applied, additionally establishing policies for seniors within varied communities.

As South Korea enters a super-aged society, Professor Kim’s study demonstrates that chronic loneliness should be dealt with as a serious concern threatening the health of elders. In addition, as life after retirement is referred to as the second phase of individuals, seniors have a right to live a virtuous and merry life for the remaining decades of life. In order to achieve this goal, the government and different industries should not hesitate to invest in relieving chronic loneliness looming over society. Instead of superficial evaluations of the problem, it is high time this deeply rooted issue be approached from an eye-to-eye perspective.