Aging and loneliness: Downhill quickly?

Levels of loneliness are relatively stable across most of adult life, but correlates of loneliness show age differences. We review evidence of age differences in associations between loneliness and individual differences in health behaviors, stress exposure, physiological stress responses, appraisal and coping, and restorative processes. The effects of each of these pathways endow loneliness with the capacity to accelerate the rate of physiological decline with age. Additional research across the lifespan is required to understand the nature of accrued loneliness effects on health behavior and physiology in the short and long term.