Stability and Change of Social and Emotional Loneliness Across the Life Span: Evidence From Two Large-Scale Longitudinal Studies

Loneliness is a multidimensional experience comprising social and emotional facets. While previous research shows that loneliness exhibits both stable and dynamic patterns across the life span, little is known about how these trajectories unfold at the facet-level. The present study investigates stability and change in social and emotional loneliness across the adult life span using two longitudinal, nationally representative datasets from the Netherlands (N = 16,732, Mage = 43.79 years, age range = 16-75 years) and Germany (N = 12,167, Mage = 63.05 years, age range = 41-84 years). We applied local structural equation modeling in latent measurement models to examine rank-order stability. We further used local structural equation modeling within second-order latent growth models to investigate the age moderation on mean-level change (slopes) for each loneliness facet separately. Measurement invariance tests supported the psychometric comparability of social and emotional loneliness items across age groups and time points. Overall, results indicated that the developmental trajectories of social and emotional loneliness are age-invariant, while rank-order stability is comparatively low to moderate across the life span. This pattern may reflect the susceptibility of loneliness facets to individual life events and situational influences, distinguishing them from broader personality traits with higher stability patterns.