Causes of loneliness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15291/radovifpsp.2506Abstract
Researchers have been primarily oriented on the experience of loneliness and very little attention has been given to the causes of loneliness. This investigation was conducted with the part of the A. Rokach’s questionnaire “Experiences of loneliness” which is related to the causes of loneliness. A questionnaire was administered to 484 subjects aged 16-90 years. The sample consisted of 261 woman and 223 man. The aim was to examine the structure of causes of loneliness, as well as age and gender differences. Principal factor analysis was used, and seven interpretable factors were extracted. These factors were named as: Replacement, Disrupted intimate relationships, Loss, Disrupted relationships in parent’s family, Emotional and social inadequacy, Traumatic experiences, and Disrupted relationships in own family. A series of one way analysis of variance showed that there are no age differences only in the factors named Emotional and social inadequacy and Traumatic experiences. Factors named Replacement, Disrupted intimate relationships, Emotional and social inadequacy, and Disrupted relationships in own family are more significant as causes of loneliness for women. It might be possible that the life situation of older people (widowhood, loss of well known environment) makes older people more vulnerable to loneliness, as well as that developmental changes have more significant impact on adolescents. Men attribute causes of their loneliness to uncontrollable experiences, while women attribute causes of their loneliness to their own behaviour, to their relationships and to their own characterological shortages.References
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LACKOVIĆ-GRGIN, K„ PENEZIĆ, Z. i SORIĆ, I. (1998): Struktura iskustva usamljenosti mjerene upitnikom A. Rokach: Razvojnopsihološka perspektiva, Radovi Filozofskog fakulteta u Zadru-Razdio FPSP, 37, 14, 33-52. LACKOVIĆ-GRGIN, K., PENEZIĆ, Z. i SORIĆ, I. (1998a): Usamljenost i samoća studenata: Uloga afilijativne motivacije i nekih osobnih značajki, Društvena Istraživanja, 4-5 (36-37), 543-558. LARSON, R.W. (1997): The Emergence of Solitude as a Constructive Domain of Experience in Early Adolescence, Child Development, 68, 1, 80-93. MIJUSKOVIC, B.L. (1985): Loneliness, Libra Publishers, San Diego. MYERS, D.G. (1996): Social Psychology, McGraw-Hill, New York. OBRADOVIĆ, J., LUKINAC, D„ RADMAN, O. i ŠIŠKO, Z. (1993): Bračni odnosi i stabilnost braka, Revija za sociologiju, 3-4. 147-169. PEPLAU, L.A. and PERLMAN, D. (Eds.) (1982): Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy, New York, Wiley-Interscience. ROKACH, A. & BROCK, H. (1995): The effects of gender, marital status and the chronicity and immediacy of loneliness, Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10,4, 833-848. ROKACH, A. & BROCK, H. (1997): Loneliness: A Multidimensional Experience, Psychology-A Journal if Human Behaviour, 34, 1, 1-9. ROKACH, A. (1989): Antecedents of Loneliness: A Factorial Analysis, The Journal of Psychology, 120,4, 369-384. ROKACH, A. (1997): Relations of Perceived Causes and the Experience of Loneliness, Psychological Reports, 80, 1067-1074. ROKACH, A. and BROCK, H. (1998): Coping with loneliness, The Journal of Psychology, 132, 1, 107-127. RUSSELL, D„ PEPLAU, L.A. and CUTRONA, C.E. (1980): The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480. SCHMITT, J.P. & Kurdek, L.A. (1985): Age and gender differences in and personality correlates of loneliness in different relationships, Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 5,485-496. SCHULTZ, N.R.Jr. and MOORE, D. (1988): Loneliness Differences Across Three Age Levels, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 5, 275- 284. z SMILJANIĆ, V. (1985): Psihologija starenja, Beograd, Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva. STORR, A. (1988): Solitude, London, Harper Collins Publishers.
STROEBE, W., STROEBE, M„ ABAKOUMKIN, G. and SCHUT, H. (1996): The Role of Loneliness and Social Support in Adjustment to Loss: A Test of Attachment Versus Stress Theory, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 6, 1241-1249.
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2018-04-16
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