The proportion of elderly Hongkongers struggling with moderate or severe loneliness has increased by more than 30 per cent since 2018, a joint study from a university and charity has found. “It is important to evaluate the loneliness level of the elderly, and hence provide suitable measures for them,” clinical psychologist and project consultant Stephen Mann Ka-Fai said. The joint study involved interviews with more than 300 people aged 60 and above living in the community and at care homes, with researchers asking respondents to grade their sense of loneliness out of six.
The average score from respondents stood at 3.56, compared with a score of two from the previous survey conducted in 2018. The survey also found that the proportion of elderly people who experience moderate or severe feelings of loneliness had risen from 35.
3 per cent to 68.3 per cent in the interval between the studies. Respondents without children or a spouse experienced more intense feelings of loneliness than those with families, according to the 2024 survey.
Mann and Salvation Army project manager Chan Ho-Kong said the increase in elderly people suffering from loneliness was due to a lack of support resulting from factors such as the recent migration trend, the ageing population and the low fertility rate. The charity said it had also trained 26 social workers to help improve the mental health of elderly residents through therapeutic activities under its acceptance and commitment therapy group prog.
