Replication Study: Predictors of Loneliness in U.S. Adults Over Age Sixty-Five

Loneliness has been a prevalent problem for older adults in the United States, and it continues to threaten the well-being of older adults as that population reaches historic sizes. Loneliness is a growing population problem. In 2009, Theeke found almost 1 in 5 older Americans was lonely. Marital status and health factors predicted loneliness but other key variables, somewhat unexpectedly, did not. In this study, we replicate Theeke (2009)’s findings using 2020 data from the Health and Retirement Study. We sought to understand whether Theeke’s (2009) findings stand up over time given administrative changes to the parent study and changes in population factors. The current study’s findings have implications for efforts to replicate extant science and for understanding, what has been called, the loneliness epidemic in older Americans.