The number of people living alone in the U.S. jumped to nearly 38 million. A new study shows people who live alone are more likely to report depression if they didn't have other social supports.

People living alone are more likely to report feeling depressed compared to those living with others, according to a new study by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. And that effect is particularly stark for people living alone who say they have little or no social and emotional support.

“The most interesting takeaway from this study was the importance of feeling supported,” says social scientist Kasley Killam, who wasn’t involved in the new study. “And this is consistent with other evidence showing that social support and emotional support really play a pivotal role in people’s overall health and well-being.”

The new study comes at a time when the number of single person households in the U.S. has skyrocketed. In the decade from 2012 to 2022, the number of Americans living alone jumped by nearly 5 million to 37.9 million.

  • Humanius@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    9 months ago

    Keep in mind:

    • $1149 / month is the average, meaning there is cheaper places out there (probably depending on location)
    • Not everyone earns minimum wage, there are plenty of people who earn above minimum wage
    • Just because there might be issues with cohabitation, does not mean that living alone doesn’t seem to correlate with higher rates of depression

    The new study comes at a time when the number of single person households in the U.S. has skyrocketed. In the decade from 2012 to 2022, the number of Americans living alone jumped by nearly 5 million to 37.9 million.

    There is clearly a lot of people who can afford to live alone, and for some reason they appear to be at a higher risk of depression.
    Dismissing the existence of this group is not going to solve that problem.