Loneliness and attachment patterns in young adults.
Loneliness is a pervasive problem for many young adults. How early attachment patterns affect later development of loneliness was investigated in a college sample. Forty-seven young adults residing in Los Angeles were screened for race, disability, age and SES and then administered an attachment history questionnaire and several measures of loneliness, including the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Pearson correlations revealed a moderate to strong relationship between feeling lonely and early disrupted attachment. The results of the study are consistent with Bowlby's notion that underlying attachment disorders may affect subsequent psychological development and social behavior.
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012933:Social Identification; D012934:Social Isolation