Elena Stepanova, Marius Alt and Astrid Hopfensitz, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2025.

Trust behavior and being trusted are influenced by a multitude of individual and situational factors. Loneliness is a factor that has recently been hypothesized to be related to trust. Societies and governments are increasingly concerned with the rise of loneliness, and a negative impact on trust might add an additional social cost of loneliness. To evaluate the economic risk of loneliness, we present results from a large, incentivized trust experiment conducted with more than 27000 respondents. Our study allows us to investigate (i) the relationship between self-reported loneliness and behavior in an incentivized trust situation and (ii) the impact of knowing about the loneliness status of others on behavior.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Berlingieri, F., Casabianca, E., Colagrossi, M., d’Hombres, B. et al., EU loneliness survey – Methodological report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This methodological report describes the technical specifications of the EU Loneliness Survey. The survey, conducted in November and December 2022, is the first EU-wide survey measuring loneliness through established multi-items scales. It also entails rich socio-demographic information of the respondents, and six additional modules covering a broad range of topics related to loneliness. Thereby, it provides an opportunity to evaluate the risk factors associated with loneliness, the potential consequences of loneliness and the level of awareness regarding existing programs and initiatives. The survey was administered to two samples: the EU27 and the EU4 samples. The EU27 sample is collected though a non-probabilistic online survey targeting the general population aged 16 and above in all 27 EU Member States. Data were collected for a total of 25,646 respondents, recruited from established consumer panels. The EU4 sample covers only four EU Member States (France, Italy, Poland and Sweden) and is drawn from online random probability-based panels. Data were collected for 4,029 respondents aged 16 and above.

Colagrossi, M., Mauri, C. and Stepanova, E., European Commission, oint Research Centre, 2024.

Lonely people report fewer social contacts and low interpersonal trust. Findings show that the level of social integration underlies the strong link between loneliness and low trust in others.
Loneliness motivates people to seek human contact as lonely people report a high willingness to engage in social activities (church visits and volunteering).
Lonely people are more withdrawn from political life. They tend to believe that their voice doesn’t count. Lonely people report high risk-taking behaviours in several areas of life (driving, taking financial decisions and with their health).

Dhombres, B., Kovacic, M., Schnepf, S.V. and Blaskó, Z., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2024.

Approximately 34.5% and 26.1% of respondents aged 16-30 use social networking sites and instant messaging tools for over 2 hours per day, respectively. The corresponding figures for respondents 31 or older are 13.1% and 8.8%. Over one third of young respondents exhibit patterns of social media addiction. Approximatively 12% of respondents aged 31 or older fall into this category.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Barbaglia, L., Colagrossi, M., Consoli, S. and Panella, F., Building a tracker of societal issues and economic activities for European countries leveraging unconventional big data sources – Preliminary results and prospects, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This technical report shows our ongoing work aimed at monitoring societal issues and economic activities (e.g., industrial production, unemployment, loneliness, cultural participation) across EU member states by mining unconventional data sources to complement official statistics. While the latter are often released at a relatively low frequency (e.g., monthly, quarterly or yearly), unconventional data sources are available at very high frequencies, enabling policymakers to grasp sudden changes in the economy and society, and to timely design adaptive policy interventions with the potential of fostering economic growth and societal well-being.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Berlingieri, F., Casabianca, E., Colagrossi, M., Dhombres, B. et al., Key messages and policy recommendations of the one day conference on "Loneliness in the European Union: Policies at work" – Brussels, 6 June 2023, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

On June 6th, 2023, the European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion hosted a high-level conference in Brussels. The conference marked the conclusion of the European Parliament pilot project on “Monitoring Loneliness in Europe” carried out together with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The objectives of the conference were to: (i) present the pilot project, including results from the first ever EU-wide survey on loneliness, (ii) discuss key findings with experts, top academics and practitioners, (iii) share knowledge and experiences with policy makers and practitioners on effective solutions to combat loneliness. Several key lessons and recommendations were drawn from the event: (i) loneliness is a public health issue with far-reaching consequences at societal level, including social cohesion and participation in democracy, (ii) actions to tackle loneliness should be integrated across all policy areas, (iii) better and long-term data collection on loneliness is needed to better understand its causes and develop tangible solutions to the problem

Berlingieri, F., Colagrossi, M. and Mauri, C., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2023.

A new EU-wide survey yields insights into how feelings of loneliness are related to the size and quality of social relationships, major life events and other important factors. In 2022, more than one-third of respondents was lonely at least sometimes and 13% was lonely most of the time. The prevalence of loneliness decreases with rising age, income, and education. Having several meaningful relationships is associated with lower loneliness, but also the frequency of contacts matters. Those experiencing major life events such as separation, job loss or end their studies are more often lonely.

Kovacic, M. and Schnepf, S., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2023.

Literature examining drivers of loneliness tend to focus on common demographics and socio-economic characteristics. Potential role played by the individuals’ childhood conditions have generally been overlooked so far. This policy brief examines the association of adverse childhood experiences with loneliness during adulthood. Results indicate that even if we hold account for adults' health status and individual characteristics, adverse childhood is still associated with loneliness in later life. This association is strongest for young people.

Nurminen, M., Thoma-Otremba, A. and Casabianca, E., Joint Research Centre, European Commission, 2023.

This policy brief showcases the new mapping tool developed by the JRC to browse and search for loneliness interventions across the EU. Most interventions identified in the non-exhaustive mapping are implemented by NGOs (37%), followed by local governments (18%), and joint initiatives with several partners (12%). Most interventions specifically target older adults (55%) while only 8% target youth. Given the prevalence of loneliness among youth, there is a need to increase the offer for this age group. Also other risk groups should be considered in interventions. The most common approach of interventions is to connect people (41%) or to provide group and/or social activities (26%) for the participants.

Nurminen, M., Stepanova, E. and Casabianca, E., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2023.

In addition to the offer of interventions, understanding people’s views is essential for the design and implementation of such programmes and initiatives to reduce loneliness: what do individuals think of the role of different actors in supporting lonely people in the EU? Does stigma shape these views? In what kind of activities and interventions do lonely people actually participate to feel less lonely? This policy brief provides insights into these questions based on a new EU-wide survey on loneliness, conducted by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in collaboration with Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion.

Schnepf, S., Boldrini, M. and Blasko, Z., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2022.

This policy brief presents results on 15-year-olds loneliness feelings and discusses three questions: a) Why is loneliness of children important? b) Who is lonely? c) What can mitigate loneliness - with a special focus on school characteristics. Results show that in order to fight loneliness in schools, teachers are key. Students who perceive their teachers to be supportive are of a much lower risk to feel lonely.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Beckers, A., Buecker, S., Casabianca, E. and Nurminen, M., Effectiveness of interventions tackling loneliness – A literature review, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

n Western countries, one in ten people is severely affected by loneliness, resulting in human suffering and a significant public health burden. Due to the serious negative consequences of loneliness, intervention strategies to combat loneliness are being sought worldwide. A key question for both researchers and policymakers is whether and what kind of interventions are effective in reducing loneliness. The present report provides an overview of the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of interventions tackling loneliness by summarizing available systematic reviews and meta-analyses on this topic. Despite the high relevance, research on the effectiveness of loneliness interventions is still a relatively young endeavour. However, there is an increasing demand for intervention strategies to address loneliness, even in the absence of a solid evidence base. In this context, the systematic reviews and meta-analyses summarized here provide important insights into whether loneliness interventions work, which loneliness interventions are particularly effective, and in which areas more research on loneliness interventions is needed.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Casabianca, E. and Nurminen, M., Informal expert meeting on loneliness interventions, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

On December 7th 2021, the JRC organised an informal expert meeting with academics, practitioners and policy-makers on interventions to address loneliness in Europe. The objectives of the informal expert meeting were to a) Inform the European Commission’s work on loneliness; b) Exchange and share knowledge on loneliness interventions and what works to tackle loneliness among researchers, NGOs and policy makers; and c) Build a network of intervention experts. Several key lessons and recommendations were drawn from the meeting. First, based on a recent meta-analysis, presented in the meeting, loneliness interventions are effective although it is not possible to identify a specific intervention with a large effect on loneliness reduction.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Casabianca, E. and Nurminen, M., Interventions to reduce loneliness among youth, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

On May 12th 2022, the JRC organised an online seminar in the context of the Fairness Community of Practice to bring together academics, practitioners and policy-makers to discuss interventions to reduce loneliness among youth. The objectives of the seminar were to a) Inform the European Commission’s work on loneliness; b) Exchange and share knowledge on loneliness interventions and what works to tackle loneliness among youth, and c) Build a network of intervention experts. Several key lessons and recommendations were drawn from the meeting.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Casabianca, E. and Nurminen, M., JRC conference and workshop report – Roundtable with experts – Effective actions to address loneliness, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

On October 11th 2022, the JRC organised a Roundtable with experts to discuss effective actions to address loneliness. The objectives of the Roundtable were to: a) present the European Commission’s findings on loneliness interventions; b) exchange and share knowledge among loneliness experts including researchers, policymakers and practitioners; and c) build a network of loneliness intervention experts. Several key lessons and recommendations were drawn from the meeting. First, based on the JRC’s systematic umbrella review on the effectiveness of interventions tackling loneliness, most reviewed studies reported reductions in loneliness. This is encouraging news for both service providers, users and funders of loneliness interventions.

Casabianca, E. and Kovacic, M., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2022.

This policy brief provides cross-country evidence on the incidence of loneliness among older adults (50+) in the EU and an analysis of the risk factors for loneliness for this group of individuals. It also assesses the association between loneliness and a range of health outcomes, both physical and mental. Mapping loneliness across EU Member States, identifying the risk factors for loneliness as well as understanding its health related implications may be of guidance for policymakers for the design and implementation of effective intervention to address loneliness.

Casabianca, E., Kovacic, M., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2022.

We estimate the direct causal effect of loneliness on a variety of health outcomes using a sample of second-generation immigrants among older adults drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Baarck, J. and Kovacic, M., The relationship between loneliness and health, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

The link between loneliness and health has been extensively documented in scientific literature. Loneliness is widely recognized as being a public health issue and concern has been heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. A clear understanding of the association between loneliness and mortality and morbidity is needed to judge the extent of loneliness as a public health challenge and the need for interventions. This report summarizes evidence from the emerging academic literature on the topic, addresses the potential mechanisms linking loneliness and health, as well as the concerns related to the presence of reverse causality.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Barjaková, M. and Garnero, A., Risk factors for loneliness, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness was increasingly recognised as a serious policy problem with detrimental effects on mental and physical health, as well as on social cohesion and community trust. To effectively tackle the complex (and multifaceted) issue of loneliness, a clear understanding of the phenomenon and its main drivers is needed. Over years of scientific research on loneliness, many potential risk factors have emerged and been tested empirically. Given the very large number of studies available in the literature, this narrative review provides a concise summary for each main potential risk factor for loneliness, with an emphasis on recent meta-analyses and systematic reviews of the literature as well as longitudinal studies from Europe and North America, covering the whole age range of the population where possible.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Blasko, Z. and Castelli, C., Social media use and loneliness, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

Engaging with social media, i.e. using social network sites and instant messaging applications can be both helpful in the fight against loneliness and detrimental to individuals' mental well-being by further increasing their sense of loneliness. Social media per se is therefore neither a remedy against loneliness nor a cause of loneliness. It can be one or the other and it can also be neither of the two; depending on how social media is used, how much time people spend on it and on their motivations for using turning to social media. The age and the specific psychological characteristics of the individual also matter. In addition, loneliness shapes how, with what motives and for how long individuals engage with social media that is, lonely people use social media differently than those that feel socially well-connected. The association between loneliness and social media use is likely to be a reciprocal one, but causality relationships are hard to establish due to data limitations. However, empirical research reviewed in this report offer some important evidence on this relationship, helping to better though not fully understand how one might affect the other and how policymaking can intervene to reduce loneliness through social media.

Beatrice d'Hombres, Martina Barjaková, Sylke V. Schnepf, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2021.

Concerns about loneliness and social isolation are growing more than ever. With the COVID-19 pandemic entering its second year, there are fears that the toll on loneliness could have consequences long after the virus recedes. This study offers a comparative overview of the incidence and determinants of loneliness and social isolation in Europe in the pre-COVID-19 period. The empirical results indicate that 8.6% of the adult population in Europe suffer from frequent loneliness and 20.8% from social isolation, with eastern Europe recording the highest prevalence of both phenomena.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Cuccu, L. and Stepanova, E., Loneliness & social and civic behaviours – Literature review, Publications Office, 2021.

Loneliness and social isolation might be detrimental to individuals’ mental and physical health, as it has been extensively documented in the scientific literature. The widespread diffusion of these phenomena and the severity of their consequences called the attention of policy makers, who started designing and putting in place measures to address what became a public health issue. However, much less consideration has been paid to loneliness as a social and civic problem. Lonely individuals tend to be characterised by lower interpersonal trust, tend to see the world as more hostile, and expect rejection and aggression.

Baarck, J., D`hombres, B. and Tintori, G., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2021.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization first described COVID-19 as a pandemic. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, lockdowns, quarantines, curfews, distancing measures and the cancellation of community activities and events have been implemented across Europe. While these measures were needed to control the spread of the virus, they have also led to forms of social isolation never experienced by present generations. The long-term effects on mental health are still unclear. However, experts have already warned that the toll of loneliness could have consequences long after the virus recedes.

Baarck, J., Balahur-Dobrescu, A., Cassio, L.G., D`Hombres, B., Pasztor, Z. and Tintori, G., European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2021.

Research shows that loneliness and social isolation have harmful repercussions on mental and physical health, as well as significant consequences on social cohesion and community trust. Both loneliness and social isolation are hence increasingly recognized critical public health issues that deserve attention and need to be addressed with effective intervention strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic has also dramatically reshaped Europeans’ lives and social practices. Mobility restrictions and social distancing measures adopted to contain the spread of the virus prompted public discussions on the unintended side effects of such provisions. In particular, some fear that the toll of loneliness could have consequences long after the virus recedes.

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2018-2025.

The JRC regularly publishes policy briefs, technical reports and literature reviews on various topics related to loneliness.