3. What causes loneliness, and how can it become chronic? Transitional life events as triggers support and enjoyment. The social connections for loneliness embedded in this daily pattern also enabled him to enact important identity roles – for example, This research has evidenced life transitions – and as a father, an income earner, a supportive particularly role transition – as disruptive moments colleague, a good employee, and so on. that increase the risk of loneliness amongst These roles, implicitly or explicitly, formed an individuals. When existing social connections enormous part of how he saw himself, his self- are challenged or severed – for example through worth and his life satisfaction. These small, daily a break-up of a relationship, emergence of a interactions and gestures from others were serious health issue, or retirement – this can surprisingly, of great help and worth to those reduce opportunities for ‘easy’ connection and experiencing loneliness. also threaten self-identity. A range of barriers to connection – which vary from person to person Versions of this narrative were shared by and can occur across individual, community participants from other target groups as well. and social levels – can then additionally weaken When they talked about what their lives were like people’s ability to make or sustain connections. ‘pre-loneliness,’ participants shared the ways Once habits of disconnection have set in, they their social connections shaped their days: a become hard to break. Loneliness itself can wife who, before her spouse died, valued the become a barrier to connection. People who daily, predictable interaction with her partner over are experiencing loneliness can begin to view shared meals; a parent who, when her children connection as a vulnerable and anxiety-ridden were younger, felt connected with others through experience, or even begin to question their own encounters with the teachers, coaches and self-worth. Chronic loneliness seems to be most parents of the friends of her children. likely within this complex context of threatened This pattern was repeated over and over in our self-identity, barriers to connection and potentially discussions with participants. When existing even reduced self-worth. At worst, some people social ties and identities were threatened or are convinced they have nothing to offer.severed, participants needed to make do A key theme emerging from across the target without many of the predictable, and thus ‘easy,’ groups of people experiencing loneliness was the moments of interaction that they had taken for way in which loneliness was often felt at a time granted. At the same time, participants told us, a when participants were experiencing a transition vacuum in positive social connections began to in terms of their social connections and social threaten how they defined themselves. As we will identities – retirement, motherhood, bereavement explore, participants even told us that at worst, etc. These transitions could either be sudden they began to question who they were, what their (e.g. the loss of a partner) or occur over time value was, and what they had to offer to those (e.g. the worsening of a health condition).they come in contact with. For example, when we asked one participant what life looked like before his retirement – for him, the advent of loneliness – he spoke about the many interactions that used to form an average day. His daily connections had a pattern: discussions and banter with colleagues and people on his route to work; a mild argument with his wife; a smile shared with a fellow commuter. This daily pattern offered opportunities for positive interaction, discussion and debate, social What causes loneliness, and how can it become chronic? 20