Cecilia H. Solano

Loneliness and patterns of self-disclosure.

The first study in this paper examined the hypothesis that feeling lonely is related to a self-perceived lack of self-disclosure to significant others. Thirty-seven male and 38 female undergraduates rated themselves on the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire. Analyses showed that for males and females, loneliness was significantly and linearly related to a self-perceived lack of intimate disclosure to opposite-sex friends. For females, loneliness was also associated with a perceived lack of self-disclosure to same-sex friends. The second study investigated the relationship between loneliness and actual disclosure behavior. Twenty-four lonely subjects and 23 nonlonely subjects were paired with nonlonely partners in a structured acquaintanceship exercise. Both opposite-sex pairs and same-sex pairs were included in the design. Postexercise ratings by partners indicated that lonely subjects were less effective than nonlonely subjects in making themselves known. Analysis of the intimacy level in the conversations showed that lonely subjects had significantly different patterns of disclosure than nonlonely subjects. We suggest that the self-disclosure style of the lonely person impairs the normal development of social relationships.

Correlates of loneliness in midadolescence

The present study was designed to assess the relationship between adolescent loneliness and the following factors commonly associated with adult loneliness: attributional style, self-esteem, social anxiety, and social skills. Subjects were 186 ninth-grade students (107 males and 79 females) who were asked to complete seven different paper-and-pencil measures. Data were analyzed by calculating separate stepwise multiple regression equations for the total sample, males and females. Three significant predictors were found for the total sample: student social skills rating scale, self-esteem, and the perception of stability in interpersonal situations (attributional style). A different pattern of predictors emerged for males and females. Loneliness could be predicted for males from three variables: low self-esteem, the perception of uncontrollability in noninterpersonal situations, and self-perceptions of poor social skills. The best multiple predictors of loneliness for the females were self-perceptions of poor social skills, high social anxiety, and stable attributions for interpersonal situations.

Loneliness and Communication Problems Subjective Anxiety or Objective Skills

In past research, loneliness has been found to be associated with social skill deficits. In the present study, loneliness was also demonstrated to be strongly associated with anxiety over social skills, for both male and female undergraduates and for a variety of social relationships. In a second study, male and female undergraduates were rated on both social skill deficits and anxiety over social skills to determine whether the two factors interacted to produce greater loneliness. Both factors were related significantly but independently to loneliness, with anxiety having a larger effect size.

Two Measures of Loneliness: A Comparison

Researchers have long neglected the topic of loneliness. One reason has been the lack of adequate measures. Recently, however, several scales have been developed which seem promising. The present research compares two such scales, the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Belcher Extended Loneliness Scale. 151 male and 107 female undergraduates filled out both scales in a random order. The analyses showed that both scales are highly internally consistent. Also, both scales produce scores which are significantly correlated with self-reported loneliness. The inclusion of the sociological concepts of alienation and anomie in the Belcher scale, however, do not greatly increase its validity over the UCLA scale. In comparison with the multidimensional Belcher, the unidimensional UCLA scale specifically identified loneliness due to a lack of social interaction. More research on loneliness is recommended using valid and reliable scales such as these.

The Conversational Styles of Lonely Males with Strangers and Roommates

Several studies have indicated that lonely persons converse in an inhibited self-focused manner in initial encounters with opposite-sex strangers. The present study hypothesized that lonely persons may also display nonnormative conversational patterns in same-sex dyads and when speaking to familiar others. To test this hypothesis, lonely and nonlonely college males engaged in a conversation with a same-sex stranger and with a roommate. These conversations were coded for eight objective conversational modes and three interpersonal orientations, and subjects reported on their satisfaction with the conversation. Lonely males were significantly more inhibited in social interactions, speaking less than nonlonely males both with strangers and with roommates. Only minimal support was found for lonely persons having a self-focused conversational style with strangers. The conversational style of lonely persons with roommates is less intimate than that of nonlonely persons; lonely persons used simple attentiveness conversational modes more than nonlonely persons, and used familiarity modes less than nonlonely persons. No differences in self-reported satisfaction with the conversations were found.

People Without Friends: Loneliness and Its Alternatives

To have friends is considered to be a normal and desirable aspect of a modern American social life. The mass media is filled with images of all types of people working and relaxing with one or more friends. Empirical studies support this image of friends as being an important part of the normal social life. In one such study, Lowenthal, Thurnher, and Chiriboga (1975) did an extensive survey of the friendship patterns of adults in the United States. They found that, on the average, people report having approximately six relationships that can be called friendships. However, this number varies in predictable ways with life stage. For example, newlyweds have the highest number of reported friends (eight). This is higher than the average five reported by high-schoolers, the average five reported by middle-age married persons, or the average six reported by persons about to retire. Even with these fluctuations it is clear that Americans typically have a substantial number of friends over the life cycle.

Loneliness in Young Children and Their Parents

Although many researchers have studied loneliness, they have done so as if people are free from social context. An alternative perspective is that people exist within ongoing social groups. In the current study, we considered the relationship among family members in level of loneliness and the predictors of loneliness for each family member. Subjects were 52 first-grade children and their parents (47 mothers, 32 fathers). The loneliness of children was significantly correlated with the level of loneliness of their mothers, but not their fathers. For all three types of family members, loneliness was associated with using fewer relationship-enhancing strategies. For children and mothers, loneliness was also associated with having more negative attitudes toward others. Finally, for mothers with young children, loneliness was associated with having smaller social networks.

Stereotypes of Social Isolation and Early Burnout in the Gifted: Do They Still Exist?.

At the turn of the century, two common stereotypes of genius were that precocity was associated with social failure and that precocity bred early burnout. Later research on the gifted has refuted these stereotypes. The two studies in this paper investigate whether the stereotypes have changed in light of this new knowledge. In the first study, 66 male and 61 female colege students rated gifted, able, and average males and females. In the second study, 60 male and 59 female college students rated males and females with various extreme levels of precocity. In both studies, the stimulus persons were rated as high schoolers and as adults. Results indicate that the perception of the gifted, especially females, as encountering serious social problems is still prevalent. The illusion of burnout, however, has been replaced with an illusion of unqualified success.

Self-concept in mathematically gifted adolescents.

Much research has been done on the personality characteristics of children identified as gifted on general intelligence measures. Past research, however, has suggested that personality may vary as a function of the specific area of giftedness, the absolute level of giftedness, and the sex of the adolescent. Mathematical ability is of particular interest, since this ability area is usually stereotyped as being more appropriate for males, and may have differential affect on the personalities of gifted boys and girls. Therefore, the present study investigated the self-esteem and self-concepts of boys and girls (N = 216) who were either highly gifted, able, or average mathematical ability. Thirty-six students of each type completed the Adjective Check List. In regard to self-esteem, level of mathematical ability had no effect on the self-esteem of boys, but did for girls. Furthermore, both sex of S and level of ability had an effect on the content of the self-descriptions.

Photographic Style and Personality: Developing a Coding System for Photographs

Summary Taking photographs is a common activity in American life, and the use of photographs as stimuli is common in psychological research and therapy. In spite of this interest, however, few researchers have investigated the actual nature of this popular and widespread behavior. The present research is aimed at developing a coding system for photographic variables and at explaining the relationship between these variables and personality characteristics. Twenty-three male and female undergraduates each shot a 36-exposure roll of film on a college campus. The photographs were coded on seven content and four stylistic categories, and tested for inter-code reliability. A comparison of the photograph and personality variables indicated that the preferred content and style of the pictures was significantly associated with a wide range of personality traits.