Lonelines in pre-through late adolescence: Exploring the contributions of a multidimensional approach

Marcoen, Alfons; Goossens, Luc; Caes, Paul

doi:10.1007/bf02138821

Cited by 231 publications

(201 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…This was assessed using the 12-item Peer subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA: Marcoen, Goossens, & Caes, 1987). A pure scale of loneliness was constructed that was composed of the items: 'I feel cut-off from other people', 'I feel alone at school', 'I feel left out by my friends', and 'I have no best friend that I can tell everything to'.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was assessed using items from the Peer subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA: Marcoen, Goossens, & Caes, 1987) as detailed in Study 2. Mean scores were used in the analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measures used in the previous childhood studies include the Illinois Loneliness and Social Satisfaction scale (ILSS; Asher, Hymel, & Renshaw, 1984) and the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA; Marcoen, Goossens, & Caes, 1987). The ILSS and the LACA include items assessing dissatisfaction with peer relationships and anticipated rejection by peers.…”

Section: Limitations Of Previous Work On Hsthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating Hypervigilance for Social Threat of Lonely Children

Qualter¹,

Rotenberg

Barrett³

et al. 2012

J Abnorm Child Psychol

102

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This series of studies is the first to examine hypervigilance for social threat among lonely children and the first to establish this link using eye-tracking technology. Hypervigilance for social threat was operationalised as hostility to ambiguously motivated social exclusion in a variation of the hostile attribution paradigm (Study 1), scores on the Children's RejectionSensitivity Questionnaire (Study 2), and visual attention to socially threatening stimuli (Study 3). The participants were 185 children (11 years -7 months to 12 years -6 months), 248 children (9 years -4 months to 11 years -8 months) and 147 children (8 years -10 months to 12 years -10 months) in the three studies, respectively. Regression analyses showed that, with depressive symptoms covaried, there were quadratic relations between loneliness and these different measures of hypervigilance to social threat. As hypothesized, only children in the upper range of loneliness demonstrated elevated hostility to ambiguously motivated social exclusion, higher scores on the rejection sensitivity questionnaire, and disengagement difficulties when viewing socially threatening stimuli. We found that very lonely children are hypersensitive to social threat.Key words: Loneliness; Children; Hypervigilance; Social Threat; Rejection; Hypersensitivity, Rejection-sensitivity; Eye movement; Attentional bias.Running Head: LONELINESS AND HYPERVIGILANCE TO SOCIAL THREAT 4 Investigating Hypervigilance for Social Threat of Lonely ChildrenResearchers have examined the social information processing biases that serve to maintain loneliness. One such bias is conceptualized as the 'hypervigilance for social threat hypothesis' (HSTH), where it is argued that rejection sensitivity contributes to behavioral deficiencies (e.g., withdrawal) that undermine the opportunities to develop and maintain positive social relationships (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009). Several studies provide support for the HSTH in adults (Jones & Carver, 1991;Jones, Freemon & Goswick, 1981;Sloan & Solano, 1984), but there has been little work on this in children. Confirming the HSTH during childhood is important because it would indicate that this form of social information bias is evident during development and, therefore, a potential contributor to the persistence of loneliness from childhood through to adulthood, which itself predicts mental and physical health. Loneliness and social information processing biasesLoneliness is an unpleasant state that arises from a discrepancy between the interpersonal relationships people want to have, and those they perceive they currently have (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). Loneliness is not linked to the number of friends that a person has (Young, 1982;Qualter & Munn, 2005). It is a prevalent problem in children, adolescents and adults (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008; Rotenberg & Hymel, 1999), and is acknowledged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR: American Psychiatric Association, 2000) because it often causes significant distress a...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limitations Of Previous Work On Hsthmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Investigating Hypervigilance for Social Threat of Lonely Children

Qualter¹,

Rotenberg

Barrett³

et al. 2012

J Abnorm Child Psychol

102

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“…Trait loneliness was measured with the peer-related subscale of the Louvain Loneliness scale for Children and Adolescents (Marcoen et al, 1987), which consists of 12 items. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (always).…”

Section: Trait Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Loneliness is defined as the negative emotions that arise in response to a perceived discrepancy between the actual and desired quality and quantity of social relationships (Perlman & Peplau, 1981). Loneliness is typically examined as a trait, by means of questionnaires (e.g., Louvain Loneliness scale for Children and Adolescents [LLCA]; Marcoen, Goossens, & Caes, 1987; University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA] Loneliness Scale; Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980). Although many studies have investigated trait levels of loneliness, there are several questions that remain unanswered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait and State Levels of Loneliness in Early and Late Adolescents: Examining the Differential Reactivity Hypothesis

Roekel

Verhagen

Engels

et al. 2016

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

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According to the differential reactivity hypothesis, lonely individuals respond differently to their environment compared to nonlonely individuals, which may sustain their loneliness levels. However, this interesting hypothesis has not yet been explored in daily life: Do lonely individuals feel lonely all the time, or do they feel more or less lonely in specific social contexts? The main aim of the present study was to test the differential reactivity hypothesis in daily life by examining in three samples whether trait levels of loneliness affected the levels of state loneliness in different social contexts. We used baseline questionnaires to measure trait loneliness and the Experience Sampling Method to collect data on state loneliness, in early adolescents (N = 269, M age = 14.49, 59% female) and late adolescents (N = 223, M age = 19.60, 91% female) from the Netherlands and late adolescents from the United States (N = 126, M age = 19.20, 51% female). Results provided evidence for the differential reactivity hypothesis in the total sample, as high lonely adolescents experienced higher levels of state loneliness in situations in which they were alone than low lonely adolescents, but also benefited more from being with intimate company than low lonely adolescents. In sum, the present study provided evidence for the differential reactivity hypothesis and showed that the experience of loneliness in daily life was remarkably similar across age and culture. Our findings provide important insights into the daily experiences of trait lonely people, which may provide starting points for interventions.

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Loneliness and Belongingness in the College Years

Asher

Weeks

2013

The Handbook of Solitude

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Lonelines in pre-through late adolescence: Exploring the contributions of a multidimensional approach

Cited by 231 publications

References 15 publications

Investigating Hypervigilance for Social Threat of Lonely Children

Investigating Hypervigilance for Social Threat of Lonely Children

Trait and State Levels of Loneliness in Early and Late Adolescents: Examining the Differential Reactivity Hypothesis

Loneliness and Belongingness in the College Years

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