While we think of older people being more solitary, and thus more lonely, this might not actually be true.
人们都以为老年人孤身一人的时候更多,所以更寂寞,但事实也许不是这样。
According to the work of Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, loneliness is actually at its peak among teenagers and young adults.
美国犹他州杨百翰大学的心理学教授朱莉安娜·郝特-朗斯达的研究指出,实际上,青少年和青年才是最孤独的。
Holt-Lunstad and her colleagues analysed 70 studies, and found that there were stronger risks of loneliness-related illness for under- 65s than over-65s.
郝特-朗斯达和她的同事们分析了70项研究后发现,65岁以下人群患孤独相关疾病的风险比65岁以上人群更高。
Also, the US National Social Life, Health and Ageing Project states that just 30% of older adults feel lonely fairly often.
此外,美国国家社会生活、健康和老龄化项目称,只有30%的老年人经常感到孤独。
While older people might be alone much of the time, this doesn't mean they are unhappy about it.
虽然老年人也许大部分时间都是孤身一人,但这不意味着他们不喜欢那样的状态。
In fact, people can feel lonely when they're surrounded by others. Many lonely people are also married.
事实上,人们在有人相伴时也会感到孤独。很多已婚人士也会觉得孤独。
"Being unmarried is a significant risk," Holt-Lunstad told the New York Times, "but not all marriages are happy ones. We have to consider the quality of relationships, not simply their existence or quantity."
郝特-朗斯达向《纽约时报》透露:“未婚是一个重大风险,不过,并不是所有婚姻都幸福。我们必须考虑婚姻的质量,不能只看结婚与否或结婚时间长短。”