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Results for “Loneliness”

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PubMedDate not supplied

Loneliness and friendship in high-functioning children with autism.

Loneliness and friendship were examined in 22 high-functioning children with autism and 19 typically developing children equated with the autistic children for IQ, CA, gender, mother's education, and ethnicity. Children between the ages of 8 and 14 were asked to report on both their understanding and feelings of loneliness and the quality of their friendship. Compared to typically developing children, children with autism were both lonelier and had less complete understandings of loneliness. Although all children with autism reported having at least one friend, the quality of their friendships was poorer in terms of companionship, security, and help. Fewer associations were found between loneliness and friendship for the autistic than for the non-autistic children, suggesting less understanding of the relation between loneliness and friendship. Implications of these results are discussed for conceptualizing the social deficits in autism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

The separateness of social and emotional loneliness in childhood.

BACKGROUND: Much of the childhood loneliness research is misleading because it confounds objective and subjective measures of loneliness. The overall aim of this research was to examine the relationship between social isolation and emotional loneliness. METHOD: Three extreme groups were identified in a sample of 640 4-9-year-old children. There were two ('rejected' [N=60] and 'lonely' [N=146]) in which social and emotional loneliness were unrelated. The first were socially isolated (rejected) but they did not feel lonely. The second group felt lonely but they were not socially isolated. The third group ('rejected/ lonely') consisted of 61 children who were rejected and also felt lonely. RESULTS: Felt loneliness and social rejection were experienced together by 61 children, but 206 children experienced either one or the other, but not both. The fourth and largest group [N=374] were neither rejected nor lonely. Differences between the groups were found on direct observation measures of solitariness, sociability, and aggression; peer reports of shyness, aggression, prosocial behaviour, disruptive behaviour and inability to take teasing; self-reports of self-worth and competence, self-reports of supportive relationships; and measures of language use. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that it is loneliness and not rejection that co-occurs with emotional problems.

Aggression↗

PubMed1994

Marital status, social support, and loneliness in visually impaired elderly people.

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between marital status, social support, and loneliness in visually impaired elderly people. The sample was derived from a larger study designed to examine loneliness in low-vision adults (Foxall et al. 1992). Subjects were 87 visually impaired elderly people who were at least 65 years of age, had a visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye, had been visually impaired for at least 1 year, and were not totally blind. Data were collected by interview using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Social Support Questionnaire, and a demographic and health information form. Results indicate marital status was not directly related to loneliness but may be indirectly related through social support. Loneliness was associated with greater network dissatisfaction related to caring and relaxation. Findings provide direction for nursing assessment of and intervention into loneliness with visually impaired elderly people.

Aged↗

PubMed1989

Stability and change in feelings of loneliness: a two-year prospective longitudinal study of advanced alcohol abuse.

In order to study the changing nature of loneliness in a prospective design, 78 alcoholics were examined twice with an interval of two years. Change scores in loneliness were correlated with change scores in social network, psychological well-being, life-satisfaction, activities, adaptation to one's work and non-work situation, psychiatric symptoms and alcohol consumption. In addition, a step-wise multiple regression analysis with loneliness change as the dependent variable was performed. Change in loneliness was accompanied by changes in well-being (especially indolence, self-esteem and perceived treatment from others), mood-related psychiatric variables and satisfaction with autonomy and life as a whole. However, other variables, like satisfaction with one's social network and a number of non-cyclic psychiatric disorders, did not change along with loneliness, despite stable cross-sectional links. The discrepancy between the cross-sectional and the longitudinal correlation patterns may be indicative of different forms of loneliness in regard to temporal stability.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Loneliness, depression, and social support of patients with COPD and their spouses.

Thirty clients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their spouses were interviewed to examine differences in the relationships among loneliness, depression, and social support. Data were collected during structured in-home interviews using the UCLA loneliness scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies depression scale, and the social support questionnaire. The clients and spouses did not differ significantly on measures of loneliness and depression, with mean scores for both groups higher than those in other comparable groups. Spouses, however, tended to be a little lonelier than clients, and clients tended to be a little more depressed than spouses. The two groups were also similar with respect to the number of people in their social networks but different as to network composition. Spouses were less satisfied with their networks than clients. Social support satisfaction was linked to loneliness and depression for clients but not for spouses. Results of the study suggest that community nurses working in home settings must be sensitive to clients' and spouses' psychologic reactions to COPD, which may be expressed in feelings of loneliness and depression.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Loneliness, depression, and social support of Turkish patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their spouses.

PURPOSE: To identify the differences in loneliness, depression, and social support among Turkish patients with COPD and their spouses. DESIGN: The convenience sample consisted of 30 patients with COPD and their spouses. Descriptive statistics, Student's t tests, and Pearson product moment correlations were used to analyse the data. METHODS: Data were collected during structured interviews in an outpatient clinic in Turkey by using the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and Perceived Social Support from Friends and Family scales. FINDINGS: Levels of loneliness, depression, and perceived social support from family and friends were similar for patients and spouses. Loneliness and depression were positively related, but both loneliness and depression were greater with less perceived social support from family and friends for both patients and their spouses. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' and spouses' psychologic reactions to COPD might include feelings of loneliness and depression, which might be alleviated by social support.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2026

Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Asian Immigrants Through the Lens of Sense of Coherence: Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies.

AIM: To explore the meaning older Asian immigrants attribute to social isolation and loneliness, their management strategies, utilisation of resources and impact on health. DESIGN: Systematic review of qualitative studies. DATA SOURCES: AgeLine, CINAHL, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched in September 2024. METHODS: Inclusion criteria: participants were Asian immigrants to Western countries aged 65 and over, community-living and experiencing social isolation and loneliness. Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence was used to frame the thematic analysis. RESULTS: Ten papers were included and analysed deductively using elements of the sense of coherence framework: • Comprehensibility: Social isolation and loneliness are viewed as multifaceted, influenced by cultural and environmental dislocation, language barriers, intergenerational conflicts, deteriorating health and mobility, and socioeconomic challenges. • Manageability: included engaging in culture-specific community programs, family and ethnic community support and living within ethnic enclaves mitigated isolation and loneliness. • Meaningfulness: Strong family ties, active community involvement, spirituality, volunteerism, and cultural practices fostered resilience. However, accepting the changing values of their new world, living independently, and carving their own niche provided meaning to their transformed reality. CONCLUSION: Older Asian immigrants experience social isolation and loneliness through a cultural lens, shaped by migration experiences, language barriers, and shifting family dynamics. Cultural roots, family ties, spirituality, community, acceptance, and independence enhance sense of coherence. Recognising the dynamic interplay between cultural identity, resilience, and adaptation is key to understanding their lived experience. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND PATIENT CARE: This review informs culturally sensitive interventions, guiding healthcare, community services, and policy to support social participation, mitigate loneliness through ethno-specific activities, and improve the quality of life for aging immigrant populations in Western countries. REPORTING METHOD: The review was undertaken and reported using the PRISMA guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: None. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42023425752).

Humans↗

PubMed1996

UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): reliability, validity, and factor structure.

In this article I evaluated the psychometric properties of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3). Using data from prior studies of college students, nurses, teachers, and the elderly, analyses of the reliability, validity, and factor structure of this new version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale were conducted. Results indicated that the measure was highly reliable, both in terms of internal consistency (coefficient alpha ranging from .89 to .94) and test-retest reliability over a 1-year period (r = .73). Convergent validity for the scale was indicated by significant correlations with other measures of loneliness. Construct validity was supported by significant relations with measures of the adequacy of the individual's interpersonal relationships, and by correlations between loneliness and measures of health and well-being. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a model incorporating a global bipolar loneliness factor along with two method factor reflecting direction of item wording provided a very good fit to the data across samples. Implications of these results for future measurement research on loneliness are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Girls' and mothers' social anxiety, social skills, and loneliness: associations after accounting for depressive symptoms.

This study examined, in 102 mother-daughter dyads, whether (a) girls' social skills and loneliness are related to girls' social anxiety, after adjusting for girls' depressive symptoms, and (b) mothers' social functioning (social anxiety, social skills, and loneliness) is related to girls' social anxiety, after accounting for girls' social functioning (social skills and loneliness) and mothers' and girls' depressive symptoms. After accounting for girls' depression, girls' loneliness (and not social skills) was related to girls' self-reported social anxiety and girls' social skills (and not loneliness) were related to mothers' reports of girls' social anxiety. Mothers' social functioning accounted for significant variance in girls' social anxiety, beyond that accounted for by girls' social functioning and mothers' and girls' depression. Mothers' loneliness and fear of negative evaluation showed significant relations to girls' social anxiety when variance attributable to other variables was partialed out, whereas mothers' social skills and social avoidance and distress did not. Directions for future research on social anxiety are highlighted.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Loneliness among older adults in The Netherlands, Italy, and Canada: a multifaceted comparison.

Loneliness is experienced in many cultures. To properly assess cross-cultural differences, attention should be paid to the level, determinants, and measurement of loneliness. However, cross-cultural studies have rarely taken into account more than one of these. Differences in the level of loneliness were hypothesized on the basis of national differences in partnership, kinship, and friendship, which were assumed to be related to cultural standards within a society. Differences were examined among married and widowed older adults aged 70 to 89 years living independently in The Netherlands (N = 1,847), Tuscany, Italy (N = 562), and Manitoba, Canada (N = 1,134). Loneliness was measured with an 11-item scale. The Manitobans were high on emotional loneliness and the Tuscans were high on social loneliness. Partner status excepted, the determinants were nearly the same across the three locations. Differential item functioning (DIF) related to the three locations was observed for most items. Interactions with gender and the availability of a partner relationship were observed.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

Loneliness among the oldest old, a comparison between residents living in nursing homes and residents living in the community.

Two groups of individuals, eighty years of age or older, were compared with respect to the experience of loneliness and the influence of social relationships. One group was living in nursing homes. The other group was living alone in their own homes in the community. There were no significant differences in experienced loneliness between residence with close contacts with members of family and friends compared to residents without such contacts in either of the two groups, with one exception: institutional residents with existing contacts with former neighbors reported significantly lower levels of loneliness compared to institutional residents without such contacts. Frequency of contacts with family and neighbors did not influence significantly the degree of loneliness for residents in institutions. For residents in the community there were significant differences in experienced loneliness between those who had frequent contacts with family members and neighbors and those with infrequent contacts. Institutional residents, like residents in the community who desired more frequent contacts with family members and friends, reported higher levels of loneliness, compared to those who reported sufficient contacts.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

State versus trait loneliness in elderly New Zealanders.

505 elderly people in Auckland, New Zealand were administered state and trait versions of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Version 3, and a battery of psychosocial and health measures. The Pearson correlation for scores on the loneliness measures was .86. Neither age nor gender was predictive of state or trait loneliness scores. Less education, insufficient income, and living alone were predictive of state but not trait loneliness. Having experienced the death of a spouse within the past year was predictive of trait but not state loneliness. The predictive variance for all health outcome variables was lower for trait than state loneliness.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

A novel social situation and loneliness.

Although social isolation has been shown to have a negative long-term influence on feelings of loneliness, there has been no systematic investigation of situational influences on loneliness. The purpose of this study was to compare scores on the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the loneliness which people feel prior to performing a novel task, with those on the same scale after engaging in the task. 31 college freshmen were divided into those working alone (n = 14) and those working in a group (n = 17). Those who performed the novel task within a group felt significantly less lonely after than prior to performing the task and reported less loneliness than the students who performed the same task in isolation. An important implication of this study is that group interaction may directly and immediately reduce the amount of loneliness individuals feel.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Sex differences in social support, loneliness, and depression among Korean college students.

This study examined the sex differences in reports of social support (network size and satisfaction), loneliness, and depression among Korean college students and examined whether measures of social support and loneliness predicted depression scores. In the sample were 452 college students enrolled in four universities in Korea. The women reported a larger social support network size and being less satisfied with their support than the men. Women reported higher scores on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory than men. Social support satisfaction scores and network size on the Social Support Questionnaire-6 and scores on the Loneliness Scale predicted scores on Depression in both the groups. Loneliness was the largest predictor of Depression for either sex. The amount of variance in Depression accounted for by Loneliness was 35% for women and 24% for men.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Correlations of religious beliefs with Loneliness for an undergraduate sample.

The Santa Clara Strength of Religion Scale-Short Form and the UCLA Loneliness Scale were administered to 519 undergraduate college students. Scores on Religious Faith were significantly and negatively related to Loneliness in men but not women. These results differ from previous research findings that Religious Faith was unrelated to Loneliness, negatively related to Loneliness across the sexes, and negatively related to Loneliness for women, but not men. Such a discrepancy between the results of these studies suggests that other variables or measures may influence correlations between scores for Religious Faith and Loneliness.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

[Cross-cultural study on loneliness of students at the University of the Free State].

Many young people today are lonely and hopeless, and feel that life has no meaning. The existing literature indicates that this phenomenon is taking on near-epidemic proportions in industrialised Western countries. A considerable amount of cross-cultural investigations have already been conducted overseas between different population groups, in order to determine what the causes of this phenomenon are and whether culture plays an important role in the development of loneliness. As far as this type of research is concerned South Africa is currently far behind the rest of the world. Serious efforts shall have to be made to determine whether loneliness is taking on the same proportions locally and if certain population groups are more vulnerable than others, because it could have far-reaching consequences on their physical as well as psychological health. South Africa has a rich population variety which could enable researchers to investigate emotional constructs like loneliness that could contribute to the unravelling of this multifaceted phenomenon. The purpose of this investigation was therefore to determine whether students from different cultural backgrounds at the University of the Free State differ from each other, as far as their experience of loneliness is concerned. Questionnaires were distributed among students and 270 respondents, of which 122 were white and 148 black, took part in this study. A factorial analysis of variance was applied on the data, with loneliness as dependent variable, and cultural background, gender and age as independent variables. The results firstly show that cultural background is a very important variable as far as loneliness is concerned. Black students are significantly more lonely than white students while no gender and age differences between the groups were found.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1985

[Loneliness and self-consciousness in high-school students].

To examine relationships between loneliness and various aspects of self-consciousness in high-school students, UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980), Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1979), Self-Consciousness Scale (Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975), Self-Monitoring Scale (Synder, 1974), and a High-School Life Questionnaire were administered to the first grade students in a high school (N = 182). Loneliness (alpha = .885), higher for males than for females, was significantly correlated with various aspects of their high-school lives. Loneliness was negatively correlated with self-esteem and self-monitoring, and was positively correlated with social anxiety. Only for males, a positive correlation was obtained between loneliness and private self-consciousness. Discriminant analysis and other correlational analyses also suggested that loneliness in males was related to various aspects of self-consciousness.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

[Self-disclosure and loneliness].

This study examined the relationship between self-disclosure and loneliness. The self-disclosure questionnaire (ESDQ) and the loneliness scale (LSO, consists of two subscales, U-scale and E-scale) were administered to 114 female subjects (junior college students). Results show that self-disclosure scores were negatively related to the U-scale of loneliness (whether or not they believe in mutual sympathy among human beings), but not to the E-scale of loneliness (whether or not they are conscious of individuality of each individual). The results suggest that we have to specify the quality of loneliness in question, when we examine the relationship between self-disclosure and loneliness.

Adult↗