United Against Loneliness: DZPG Launches EU Project LONELY-EU - Das Deutsche Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit
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United Against Loneliness: DZPG Launches EU Project LONELY-EU

In an effort to deepen our understanding of loneliness and to develop effective countermeasures, a significant new initiative is being launched, primarily driven by researchers from the DZPG sites in Bochum and Marburg. This research initiative, titled “The Social Isolation and Loneliness in Europe Network: Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations on its Causes, Consequences, and Monitoring,” is abbreviated as LONELY-EU. Beginning February 1, 2025, it will receive approximately 3 million euros in funding from the European Commission, spanning a period of three years.

The project will be coordinated by Prof. Dr. Maike Luhmann, a Professor of Psychological Methodology at Ruhr University Bochum and a scientific member of the DZPG in Bochum-Marburg. Under her leadership, an international research team will gather and analyze existing data on loneliness. The research will explore the underlying factors contributing to loneliness and its broader implications, including its effects on economic development. Drawing upon their findings, the project participants aim to deliver evidence-based policy recommendations, particularly regarding strategies to prevent or alleviate loneliness. Furthermore, the initiative seeks to establish a Europe-wide network for exchanging insights and ideas about loneliness.

Through their diligent work, the researchers are addressing an urgent social phenomenon. Recent studies reveal that 13 percent of EU citizens have reported feeling predominantly lonely in the past four weeks. Such feelings of loneliness and social isolation have detrimental effects on both mental and physical health, even leading to increased mortality rates.

To support this important endeavor, the scientists have assembled a diverse international research team. Participants include esteemed researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands, Judith Merkies), Annecy Behavioral Science Lab (France, Hans Ijzerman), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy, Patrizia Catellani), SWPS University (Poland, Katarzyna Growiec), University of Milan (Italy, Cristiano Vezzoni), and the communication company FIOTI, led by Rob Blaauboer.