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Many psychosocial theorists have speculated on the causes of loneliness. Psychodynamic theorists emphasize the effects of childhood experience on later life. These theorists propose that loneliness results from an unmet basic human need for intimacy during childhood. The late Harry Stack Sullivan, formerly of the Washington School of Psychiatry, Washington, DC, believed that, from preadolescence on, people need “intimate exchange with a fellow being, whom [they] may describe as a chum, friend, or loved one” (Sullivan H S. The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton, 1953, 393 p.)

Sullivan believed that loneliness could be traced to childhood, when social skills and a self-concept are formed. When opportunities to develop social skills are inadequate, perhaps due to the lack of playmates, children find it difficult to relate to their peers. Their social awkwardness may lead to rejection and a negative self-concept, resulting in loneliness they may carry throughout life.

Another psychodynamic model draws from the attachment theory of John Bowlby, Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, London. From extensive studies of mother-infant interactions in humans and other primates, Bowlby concludes that for an infant to feel secure, it must have complete faith in the availability and tenderness of an attachment figure, such as the mother. An infant whose needs are met only sporadically may come to regard others as unpredictable and potentially hostile. This distrust of others is maintained through-out adulthood, resulting in Loneliness. (Bowlby J. Attachment and loss, Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books, 1969.428 p.)

Weiss, following Bowlby’s work, suggests that the absence of an attachment figure is the essential element in at least one form of loneliness.

The idea that a tendency toward loneliness is developed early in life is supported by Rubenstein and Shaver’s survey. Lonely respondents described their parents as distant and untrustworthy more often than did nonlonely respondents. In addition, the study indicated that people whose parents had divorced when they were young were especially prone to loneliness as adults. Rubenstein and Shaver attribute this to children often interpreting parental divorce as abandonment, planting the seeds for distrust and alienation. (Shaver P & Rubenstefn C. Childhood attachment experience and adult loneliness. (Wheeler L, cd.) Review of personality and .rocitd psychology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1980 Vol. 1. p. 42-73.)

Sociologists examine the societal factors, such as social mobility and competitiveness, that can cause loneliness. David Riesman, Department of Sociology, Harvard University, and colleagues theorize that society since World War II has shaped individuals to be “other-directed.” Individuals, in their search for acceptance, become driven by the opinions of others and experience constant anxiety about themselves and their relationships. (Riesman D, Denney R & Gtazer N. The lonely crowd: a study of the changing American character New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 19.S0. 386 p.)

One of the first postwar books to reflect a self-conscious society, The Lonely Growd: A Study of the Changing American Character by Riesman and colleagues 11 has been cited over 760 times since 1966. This book was the subject of a 1980 Citation Classic commentary in which Riesman noted that it used “materials from philosophy, history, popular culture, psychoanalysis, as well as sociology, [and] gave it an audience among educated people generally.6 Riesman D. Citation Classic. Commentary on The lonely crowd. A study of the changing American character New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1950. 38fI p. Current July 1980

Weiss has taken an interactionist approach to loneliness, emphasizing the importance of both personal and situational factors. Weiss distinguishes two kinds of loneliness: social and emotional.

The loneliness of social isolation occurs when an individual has an inadequate supply of friends, relatives, and acquaintances with whom to share common experiences, Individuals suffering social loneliness feel bored, alienated, and out of the mainstream, Emotional isolation occurs when an individual lacks a partner or close friend with whom to be intimate, resulting in feelings of anxiety, restlessness, and emptiness. (Weks R S. Loneliness: the experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1973.236 p.)

A cognitive approach to loneliness offered by Peplau and Perlman focuses on personal desires and preferences concerning social relations. Two people with similar social-interaction patterns may give opposite answers when asked whether they are lonely because each may have different perceptions of and preferences for their social relations. (Peplau L A & Perlman D. Blueprint for a social psychological theory of loneliness. (Cook M & Wilson G, eds,l Low New York: Pergamon Press, 1979. p. 10-10)

Table 1: Rubenstein and Shaver’s list of the 27 words or phrases describing feelings people often associate with loneliness.

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