Global Life Satisfaction and General Antisocial Behavior in Young Individuals: The Mediating Role of Perceived Loneliness in Regard to Social Sustainability—A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

Healthy development can be viewed as an important dimension of the general wellbeing index and can be based upon lifelong sustainable satisfaction. Young individuals can represent an important component for society and its development. The literature shows that increased levels of global life satisfaction (LS) can be associated with minimal levels of problematic behaviors and elevated levels of pro-social behaviors. However, low levels of LS can be associated with high levels of perceived loneliness (PL), which, in turn, can be associated with antisocial behavior (AS). In light of this, the current investigation aims to study the mediating effect of PL and the link between LS and AS. This study is a preliminary investigation referring to aggressive behaviors and cognition in relation to subjective wellbeing. The sample consisted of 81 young individuals (M = 27.57, Standard Deviation = 9.25) from Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Romania. AS was evaluated with the How I Think Questionnaire (HIT), PL was measured with a single item inquiry and LS was evaluated with the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). The results display that there is a powerful association between LS and AS, between LS and PL and between PL and AS. After the inclusion of the mediator (PL) to the model, the influence of the independent variable (LS) increased and the effect of LS on AS significantly decreased. In light of this, the relationship between LS and AS can be explained by the mediating role of the PL variable. The results indicate the importance of perceived loneliness in regard to one’s life satisfaction and antisocial behaviors. In light of this, interventions that focus on the social aspect could prove useful for the improvement of sustainable life satisfaction, therefore decreasing the chance of the emergence of AS.

The Relationship Between Loneliness and Psychological Adjustment: Validation of the Italian Version of the Interpersonal Acceptance–Rejection Loneliness Scale

“…There are a number of studies that have highlighted that loneliness influences the daily life and the general life satisfaction of individuals who experience it (Mellor et al, 2008 ; Demeter and Rad, 2020 ) and that individuals distressed by loneliness have an increased likelihood of psychological and health problems than individuals with satisfactory interpersonal relationships (Heinrich and Gullone, 2006 ; American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ; Richardson et al, 2017 ; Menec et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ). In particular, loneliness has been linked to a variety of negative outcomes, such as the risk of sleep disorders (Griffin et al, 2020 ), eating disorders (Fox, 2020 ), Internet addiction (Mazuz and Yom-Tov, 2020 ), alcohol consumption, gambling (Savolainen et al, 2020 ), cognitive decline (Sutin et al, 2020 ), depression, suicide (Martín María et al, 2021 ), and psychotic symptoms (Ludwig et al, 2020 ).…”

Schadenfreude and General Anti-Social Behaviours: The Role of Violent Content Preferences and Life Satisfaction

“…The research results that represent the basis of this study, other than those presented in this article, were also published in the article Demeter, E., & Rad, D. (2020). Global Life Satisfaction and General Antisocial Behavior in Young Individuals: The Mediating Role of Perceived Loneliness in Regard to Social Sustainability-A Preliminary Investigation.…”

“…The present investigation is part of a chain of studies referring to violent behaviors and cognitions (i.e. Demeter & Rad, 2020).…”

Schadenfreude and life satisfaction: effect of anger and aggressiveness

“…Individuals' subjective thoughts and opinions about their own lives (Demeter, Rad, 2020; are reflected in how they express their life satisfaction (Anand, 2016). The construct of life satisfaction may be depicted by a succession of cognitive assessments in general (Shin, Johnson, 1978).…”