Most people have experienced loneliness and have been able to overcome it to reconnect with other people. In the current review, we provide a life-span perspective on one component of the evolutionary theory of loneliness—a component we refer to as the reaffiliation motive (RAM). The RAM represents the motivation to reconnect with others that is triggered by perceived social isolation. Loneliness is often a transient experience because the RAM leads to reconnection, but sometimes this motivation can fail, leading to prolonged loneliness. We review evidence of how aspects of the RAM change across development and how these aspects can fail for different reasons across the life span. We conclude with a discussion of age-appropriate interventions that may help to alleviate prolonged loneliness.

total n = 93 668) addressed how the Big Five dimensions of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) are related to loneliness. Robust variance estimation accounting for the dependency of effect sizes was used to compute meta-analytic bivariate correlations between loneliness and personality. Extraversion (r = À.370), agreeableness (r = À.243), conscientiousness (r = À.202), and openness (r = À.107) were negatively related to loneliness. Neuroticism (r = .358) was positively related to loneliness. These associations differed meaningfully in strength depending on how loneliness was assessed. Additionally, meta-analytic structural equation modelling was used to investigate the unique association between each personality trait and loneliness while controlling for the other four personality traits. All personality traits except openness remained statistically significantly associated with loneliness when controlling for the other personality traits. Our results show the importance of stable personality factors in explaining individual differences in loneliness.Note: A significant z-value in the Egger's regression test indicates funnel plot asymmetry (Egger et al., 1997). PEESE-intercepts can be interpreted as for publication bias adjusted effect size estimates (Stanley & Doucouliagos, 2014). PET, precision effect test; PEESE, precision effect estimate with standard error; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.Note: j, number of studies; k, number of effect sizes; df, degrees of freedom; ES, effect size (for categorical moderators, we report estimated mean correlation coefficients corrected for measurement error in the respective subset; for continuous moderators, we report regression coefficients out of the mixed-effects RVE meta-regressions); 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; p-values indicate whether one category differed from the reference category or whether a continuous moderator reached significance; REF, reference category.Note: j, number of studies; k, number of effect sizes; df, degrees of freedom; ES, effect size (for categorical moderators, we report estimated mean correlation coefficients corrected for measurement error in the respective subset; for continuous moderators, we report regression coefficients out of the mixed-effects RVE meta-regressions); 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; p-values indicate whether one category differed from the reference category or whether a continuous moderator reached significance; REF, reference category. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology 16 S. Buecker et al. Note: j, number of studies; k, number of effect sizes; df, degrees of freedom; ES, effect size (for categorical moderators, we report estimated mean correlation coefficients corrected for measurement error in the respective subset; for continuous moderators, we report regression coefficients out of the mixed-effects RVE meta-regressions); 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; p-values indicate whether one category differed from the reference category or wheth...

Different theoretical contentions on gender differences in loneliness exist, often including the emergence of gender differences in particular developmental periods. To explain those ideas, the current meta–analysis synthesizes the available evidence on gender differences in loneliness across the lifespan. Three–level meta–analyses were conducted with 751 effect sizes, covering 399,798 individuals (45.56% males). Results showed a close–to–zero overall effect ( g = 0.07). Most examined moderators were non–significant, except for age, the scope of the sampling area, and year of publication. Most importantly, all effects were small, suggesting that across the lifespan mean levels of loneliness are similar for males and females.

Social relationships are of vital importance for children's and adolescents' development, and disruptions in these relationships can have serious implications. Such disruptions play a central role in both loneliness and social anxiety. Although both phenomena are closely related, they have largely been studied separately, and important questions have remained unanswered concerning how both go together within and across time. Multilevel meta-analyses were performed on 102 cross-sectional studies, published between 1981 and 2016, including 41,776 participants (39% males) with a mean age of 15.59 years. Longitudinal associations were examined in 10 studies, including 3,995 participants (46% males), using a novel technique that enables the examination of such associations even when these were not reported in the original empirical studies. Results indicated a strong, positive cross-sectional association between loneliness and social anxiety symptoms. This associations did not systematically differ in strength across childhood and adolescence. Moreover, results showed that loneliness and social anxiety symptoms were reciprocally associated over time. To conclude, loneliness and social anxiety symptoms are positively associated both within and across time, and across childhood and adolescence. Breaking this vicious cycle is of great importance, as both phenomena may be associated with profound problems in multiple domains of youth development. Moreover, failing to pay attention to both loneliness and social anxiety symptoms might substantially reduce the effectiveness of intervention programs focusing on either of the two.