The Experience of Boredom in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives

Studies addressing boredom in older adults are scattered and scarce. The lack of a conceptual map on the state-of-the-art makes it difficult to achieve an authentic understanding of the issue and the proposal of interventions. The objective is to identify and examine existing literature on boredom in older adults to explore what is known so far and provide an accurate state of affairs.

Research Design and Methods

A scoping, integrative literature review of international, mixed research studies and grey literature. Eight electronic databases were searched for eligible studies to August 2020. This systematic review was reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. A narrative synthesis was conducted to consolidate and synthesize themes.

Results

9748 studies were identified. 49 studies met the inclusion criteria. 8 key themes were discovered inductively in the data: (1) Boredom experience and boredom proneness, (2) Boredom, housing, and institutionalization, (3) Boredom and retirement, (4) Boredom and mental diseases, (5) Boredom and mental disorders, (6) Boredom, loneliness, and helplessness, (7) Boredom and reminiscence, and (8) Boredom and leisure.

Discussion and Implications

Boredom is a risk factor for older adults that needs to be addressed immediately. This systematic review showed that (1) current scientific literature on boredom and ageing is scarce and scattered and do not allow to comprehensively address boredom in older adults; (2) more empirical research needs to be conducted; (3) research needs to be focused on boredom specifically and not as a correlated phenomenon; (4) boredom-focused prevention models should be developed, applied, and evaluated in different settings shortly.