Factors Special To One Type Of Loneliness

A new study, published in the July issue of Psychiatry Research, discusses the differences between these two types of loneliness, including their risk factors.

The measure for both types of loneliness was De Jong Gierveld’s 11-item loneliness scale.

An analysis of the data showed that being female, of younger age, being a current smoker, and medium or higher educational level were linked with lower social loneliness. Having a paid job and a low body mass index were associated with lower emotional loneliness....

Loneliness is an unpleasant experience in which one perceives a relationship deficit —the sense that the quality or the number of one’s relationships are unsatisfactory, the awareness that there is a mismatch between one’s desired and one’s achieved quality or q...

It has been suggested that loneliness has multiple dimensions, including social and emotional ones.

People who experience social loneliness feel like they are not part of a group that shares their interests, that they do not belong.

Risk factors associated with both types of loneliness (equal effect sizes) included being an immigrant and having a low income. Drinking and being physically active, in contrast, were linked with lower loneliness.

Why is it that people who exercise but also those who drink and smoke were less likely to feel lonely? Perhaps the association with smoking and drinking was due to participation in social events.

Social loneliness has two dimensions: it refers to a lack of connecti...