Loneliness: a reading list

Around 47% of adults in England experience loneliness occasionally or more often, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Community life survey 2019/20 (2020).

Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis in 2016/17 suggests that people with a long-term disability, widowed homeowners, unmarried middle-agers and young renters,  experience the greatest likelihood of feeling some degree of loneliness.

Some academic research has suggested that loneliness or social isolation is linked to poorer health outcomes, including early death, higher rates of depression and cognitive decline. Loneliness may lead to higher costs in the public and private sector due to greater service usage, absences and productivity losses. One 2017 report, by the New Economics Foundation, estimated that loneliness costs UK employers £2.2-£3.7 billion per year.

This reading list is a companion to the Library’s Tackling loneliness (CBP 8514) briefing, which sets out in greater detail the incidence and impact of loneliness and strategies adopted to tackle it across the UK. 

The reading list includes academic, third-sector and official reports and statistics on:

• What is loneliness?
• Overviews of research and strategies
• Comparative studies of loneliness
• The impact of the coronavirus pandemic 

The bibliography also includes the incidence and impact of loneliness on different groups of people, including: 

• Older and younger persons 
• Carers and parents
• Armed services 
• Homeless 
• Disabled 
• Black and Minority Ethnic Groups
• Refugees and migrants
• LGBT+ persons 
• Those living in rural areas 

The paper also cites material on strategies to tackle loneliness, its financial costs, and the health impacts of loneliness.

Please note that the Library is not responsible for either the views or accuracy of external content cited in the paper.