How loneliness shapes pragmatic competences in older adults

Purpose: In later life, loneliness may reduce opportunities for meaningful social engagement, undermining communicative competence essential for sustaining participation and quality of life. Pragmatic abilities - such as interpreting figurative language and adapting to context - are vital for social participation. This study examined whether emotional and social loneliness differentially predict pragmatic performance in cognitively healthy older adults, beyond education and cognitive status. Methods: Forty-nine Hebrew-speaking adults aged 66–94 with intact cognition (Mini-Cog ≥ 3) completed the Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS-Heb) and the Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Hierarchical regressions tested the unique contribution of loneliness dimensions to pragmatic comprehension and production. Results: Pragmatic comprehension was predicted by education and cognitive status. Importantly, emotional loneliness explained additional variance, indicating reduced capacity to interpret figurative and context-dependent meaning. Social loneliness had no effect. Pragmatic production was unrelated to cognitive or psychosocial factors. Conclusions: Emotional loneliness might represent a distinct psychosocial risk factor for reduced pragmatic comprehension, complementing cognitive predictors. These findings broaden models of successful aging by positioning communicative competence as a core domain.