About
Marja Aartsen is research professor, working at the department for Aging and Housing studies (NOVA). She has a background in Sociology and received her PhD degree at the VU University Amsterdam. Her academic interest is on social gerontology. Her research concentrates on loneliness, social exclusion, social inequalities and developments in social functioning in the second half of life. She is also interested in questions related to Ageing in Place and the statistical modelling of longitudinal associations between social functioning and other domains of functioning. She is president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics - European Region (IAGG-ER) and former editor of the European Journal of Ageing.
Field of study
Aging Gerontology Social inequalities Methodology Loneliness Social network Social exclusion
Research groups
Research projects
Ongoing research projects
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Enabling Ageing in Place (AgePlace)
In this project the researchers aim to generate new knowledge on the precondition for safe ageing in place.
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Strategies for Achieving Equity and Inclusion in Education, Training and Learning in Democratic Europe (STRIDE)
STRIDE will provide a new, comprehensive and comparative knowledge-base on effective education reforms, policy initiatives and interventions aimed at reducing inequalities in education, training and learning outcomes in Europe.
Completed research projects
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A Life Course Perspective on the Gendered Pathways of Exclusion from Social Relations in Later Life, and its Consequences for Health and Wellbeing (GENPATH)
GENPATH is an international European research project focussing on social exclusion in later life.
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A Multidimensional Approach to Social Exclusion in Later Life – Health Consequences for Ageing Populations (AMASE)
The overall aim of the project is to enhance research-based knowledge on the multidimensional nature of old age social exclusion and its consequences for health and to identify conditions that minimize social exclusion of disadvantaged groups.
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Social Inequalities in Ageing (SiA)
In this project researchers investigate what influences social inequalities in health, and how different organization of welfare institutions can affect social inequalities in ageing.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Suanet, Bianca;
Aartsen, Marja
; Gerstorf, Denis
(2026).
An integrated life-course and multilevel psychosocial theoretical framework for loneliness (LAMP).
Advances in Life Course Research.
Vol. 70.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2026.100765
Suero, Pamela;
Aartsen, Marja
; Vidovicova, Lucie; Donder, Liesbeth De
(2026).
Rethinking ageing in place from a human rights perspective: Insights from international experts.
Wellbeing, Space and Society.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2026.100459
Aartsen, Marja
; Keating, Norah
(2026).
Social relations, social isolation, and loneliness in later life.
Foster, Liam; klingebiel, Andreas Motel; Luo-Hermanson, Baozhen M. (Ed.).
Research Handbook on the Sociology of Ageing. p. 239-256.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5508749
Rapolienė, Gražina; Gedvilaitė-Kordušienė, Margarita; Tretjakova, Vaida;
Aartsen, Marja
(2025).
Subjective Meanings of Loneliness: Narratives of Young and Middle-Aged Adults.
Sociológia (Bratislava).
Vol. 57.
https://doi.org/10.31577/sociologia.2025.57.2.6
Precupetu, Iuliana; Pop, Cosmina;
Aartsen, Marja
(2025).
Macro-Level Influences on Loneliness in Later Life: An fsQCA Analysis.
Aartsen, Marja; Precupetu, Iuliana; Suanet, Bianca (Ed.).
Macro Social Influences on Loneliness in Later Life: Towards a Better Understanding of the Loneliness Paradox in Europe. p. 251-280.
Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94565-6_11
Suanet, Bianca;
Aartsen, Marja
(2025).
Linking Life Course Theory to Multi-Level Explanations of Loneliness: Towards a Sociology of Loneliness.
Aartsen, Marja; Precupetu, Iuliana; Suanet, Bianca (Ed.).
Macro Social Influences on Loneliness in Later Life: Towards a Better Understanding of the Loneliness Paradox in Europe. p. 321-344.
Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94565-6_14
Vasile, Octavian-Marian;
Aartsen, Marja
(2025).
Loneliness Prevalence in Different Age Groups in Europe.
Aartsen, Marja; Precupetu, Iuliana; Suanet, Bianca (Ed.).
Macro Social Influences on Loneliness in Later Life: Towards a Better Understanding of the Loneliness Paradox in Europe. p. 89-114.
Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94565-6_5
Aartsen, Marja
; Suanet, Bianca; Hansen, Thomas; Precupetu, Iuliana
(2025).
Loneliness Re-Examined: Societal Influences and Future Research Directions.
Aartsen, Marja; Precupetu, Iuliana; Suanet, Bianca (Ed.).
Macro Social Influences on Loneliness in Later Life: Towards a Better Understanding of the Loneliness Paradox in Europe. p. 345-364.
Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94565-6_15
Dury, Sarah; Grinshteyn, Erin;
Aartsen, Marja
(2025).
Older people’s formal volunteering.
Serrat, Rodrigo (Ed.).
Civic Engagement in Later Life. p. 90-107.
Policy Press.
https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447373551.ch006
Gentha, Mihaela; Matei, Aniela; Rothe, Franziska;
Aartsen, Marja
; PRECUPEȚU, Iuliana
(2025).
Assessing the transferability potential of policy practices for older people.
Archives of Public Health.
Vol. 83.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-025-01548-w
