Compared with the many studies in western countries, research on the prevalence
of and risk factors for loneliness amongst older people in China is sparse. This
paper reviews the current cross-national literature on loneliness and, using data
from two national surveys undertaken in 1992 and 2000, assesses the prevalence
of loneliness amongst older people in China and explores the factors that raise
their vulnerability to the negative feeling. The reported prevalence of loneliness
was 15.6 per cent in 1992 and 29.6 per cent in 2000. We suggest that part of the
differential is accounted for by the differences in the methodologies of the two
surveys and in the questions used to assess loneliness. The evidence from both
surveys suggests that loneliness was relatively prevalent among those aged 65 or
more years, females and those living in rural areas, and that these variations had
greater amplitude in 2000. As in western countries, increased age, being widowed
or divorced, and poor self-rated health were significantly associated with old-age
loneliness in China at the two dates. Two factors positively related to loneliness
were found that are specific to the Chinese context, however: living in a rural
(as opposed to urban) area, and thinking that one’s children are not filial. To
develop our understanding of loneliness among older people in China and other
non-western countries, it will be necessary to construct more rigorous and comparable
measurements of loneliness and to undertake longitudinal studies of social
relationships.