Abbeyfield CEO Paul Allen and Honey Langcaster-James, a well known psychologist, had a very early morning start on Friday 4th June as they launched Abbeyfield Week. Both were invited by a number of radio stations to discuss Abbeyfield and the results of the independent Holding Hands research, commissioned by Abbeyfield to highlight the importance of human contact and engaging with older people on Friday 4th June.
Paul and Honey, who holds a lecturing post teaching Attachment Theory and Relationships at the Psychology Department of The University of Hull, were interviewed by a number of radio stations including Sky News Radio, who syndicated the interview to their network of Independent Radio News stations (IRN’s) nationwide on Saturday morning.
The Holding hands poll of 3000 people delved into people’s behaviour in relation to Holding Hands and found that this pastime is becoming an activity for the young and in love, leaving many older people lonely and missing out on important physical contact with family members. It also showed that more than half of people can’t remember the last time they held their grandparents hand and more than a quarter have never done so. These findings echo the opinion of Major Richard Carr-Gomm some 50 years ago and which spurred him on to create the first Abbeyfield house, to combat loneliness and isolation experienced by older people in the community.
Listen out for the interviews, some of which were broadcast live on Friday. The other pre-records are due to be broadcast over the course of the next week on a number of stations including Sunrise radio, Kismat radio 1035, Wave 102, BBC Radio Kent, BBC Radio Stoke, Brighton’s Juice 107.2 and Waves Radio.
Interesting statistics from the Holding Hands survey included:
- 66% of people state that they hold hands to provide comfort and support while one in four do it to cheer someone up.
- Nearly half of the population can’t remember when they last held hands with their grandparents.
- A third of people hold hands with people less than five times a month.
- The older you get the more you regret lack of human contact.
- Almost half (48 percent) of respondents over 55, when asked whose hand they would most like to hold, said it would be that of a departed parent.
- Many find it difficult to show affection as 14% say they don’t hold hands due to embarrassment.
- One in three would most like to hold hands with a deceased parent or grandparent.
Samantha Alleyne, PR & Marketing Officer for Abbeyfield, said: “There was a lot of interest in the results of the independent study on Holding Hands which related perfectly to the aims of Abbeyfield which are to enhance the quality of life for older people.”