Effects of a Friendship Enrichment Program for Older Women

Purpose: This study explores the effects of participa-tion in a program designed to enrich friendship and reduce loneliness among women in later life. Several hypotheses based on the need to belong, socioemo-tional selectivity theory, and the social compensation model were tested. Design and Methods: Study 1 involved two measurement points, one at the end of the program and the other 1-year later. Study 2 used a pretest–post-test control group design with a follow-up measurement. A combination of semistructured interviews and structured questionnaires was used to collect data. A comparison group was also drawn from a nationwide representative sample. Results: Participants were characterized by deprivation on the need to belong; that is, loss of a partner, higher levels of loneliness and negative affect, and lower positive affect compared with a nationwide representative sample of same-aged women. Participants were more likely than women in a control group to report the development of new friendships and an improvement in friendship. The combination of new and improved friendships contributed to a significant reduction in loneliness within a year. There was no evidence of satiation of the need to belong among those who did not expand or improve friendships. Loss of a partner had no influence on friendship development; how-ever, age did. Older participants were less likely to improve friendships. Implications: The action-oriented approach that focused on friendship de-velopment in this intervention might be applied to other goals considered important in later life (optimal health, autonomy, harmonious family relations)