Racial/Ethnic Differences in Loneliness Among Older Adults: The Role of Income and Education as Mediators.

Our study is the first to explicitly determine if socioeconomic factors mediate race/ethnicity differences in loneliness among a national sample of older adults. These findings illustrate that income may have greater proximate effects for loneliness among older adults in comparison to education. Additionally, these findings can inform evidence-based interventions to reduce loneliness among older adults. Interventions that enhance quality of life and provide opportunities for socialization for racialized low-income older adults may help decrease racial/ethnic inequities in loneliness.