Behind Closed Doors: Homeboundness and Psychosocial Outcomes. Evidence from a Longitudinal Study of Middle-aged and Older Adults

Abstract

Objectives: To examine how homeboundness is associated with psychosocial outcomes—including life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and loneliness—among middle-aged and older adults. Methods: Longitudinal data were drawn from the German Ageing Survey (waves 1–4), encompassing 18,491 observations of community-dwelling individuals aged 40?years and over (mean age???62.3?±?11.8?years). Homeboundness was defined as spending six or more days per week at home. Established tools measured psychosocial outcomes. An asymmetric linear fixed-effects regression model with cluster-robust standard errors was used, controlling for time-varying covariates. Results: The onset of homeboundness was robustly associated with increased loneliness. In participants aged 40–64, onset correlated with decreases in positive affect, while cessation correlated with decreases in negative affect. Among individuals aged 65+, changes in homebound status were not significantly linked to psychosocial outcomes. Conclusion: Becoming homebound can lead to worse psychosocial outcomes—especially higher loneliness and altered affect among middle-aged adults. Interventions aimed at preventing homeboundness may support successful ageing.