than one fifth of men living alone in late mid-life parents’ homes) leave home earlier and have will not be able to rely on children for informal less support than their peers. Many go on to face support and might not have sufficient financial outcomes that are much worse than those of the resources to purchase home-based health-care, general population, including those relating to as suggested by their housing tenure status educational achievement, teenage pregnancies, which is strongly related to wealth. Furthermore, homelessness, offending and mental health previous research has shown that those who are (Knight et al. 2006; Gentleman 2009). not home owners face a higher risk of admission The evidence suggests that poor outcomes for to a care home (McCann et al. 2012). Men in care leavers are linked to weak support networks, these situations may be at an increased risk few friends and feelings of isolation and loneliness of becoming isolated or developing situational (Stein 2004). The loneliness, isolation and lack of loneliness, but more research would be needed support felt by care leavers was one of the most to confirm this. frequently recurring themes in a consultation This research is important because middle-aged undertaken by the Centre for Social Justice men and women living alone will have different (CSJ). Three-quarters (77%) of the care leavers social and financial needs as they grow older, surveyed said that feeling lonely or isolated was and we may need to predict these changes. difficult when leaving care and 43% said it was Services may want to consider providing social very difficult; while 11% of care leavers report support to the most “at risk” e.g. middle-age men there were one or no people they would be able living alone who have not had children, have no to tell if they were harmed (Devereux 2014). educational qualifications, are unemployed and Building strong supportive relationships whilst who live in rented housing – as they are more they are in care and ensuring they are maintained likely to need a social and economic ‘safety net’ upon leaving is key if care leavers are going in old age (Demey et al. 2013). to gain resilience and avoid poor outcomes. Anecdotal evidence submitted to the Scottish Protective factors include having someone to turn Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee to for support and developing and maintaining inquiry into ageing and social isolation suggested positive links with family or former carers and that LGBT older adults are “more likely to these should be encouraged and worked live alone, to be estranged from their families towards (Stein 2004; NCAS 2009). At the same of origin, not to have had children and not time re-establishing or increasing contact with necessarily to have had a relationship” (Scottish birth families can lead to disappointment or have Parliament 2015). As with ethnicity, while there a negative impact on the young person’s well- is no definitive evidence that LGBT people as being (Munro et al. 2011: 58). a whole are more likely to be lonely or isolated Yet there are key points when opportunities than non-LGBT people, it is worth considering are lost to sustain relationships such as how sexual identity, ethnicity and so on might separation from siblings, frequent movement and interact with other factors to affect the likelihood placements far away from home. Care teams aim of isolation or loneliness. to fully support young people leaving care, but Young care leavers research by the CSJ also found they were often Young people leaving home for the first time too busy to build relationships with young people: are likely to experience feelings of isolation or the average caseload of a personal adviser is 23 loneliness. While this is often temporary, it can young people, going as high as 49 in some local become an issue of concern for some young authorities. 1 people. However, young people leaving the care Despite the fact that the role of family and social system (either care homes or foster relationships and emotional and behavioural 1. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/19/lonely-in- support are both in the pathway plan set out as freshers-week Clustered groups at risk of isolation or loneliness 14