title: Declining loneliness over time: evidence from american colleges and high schools.
abstract: We examined changes in loneliness over time. Study 1 was a cross-temporal meta-analysis of 48 samples of American college students who completed the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (total N = 13,041). In Study 1, loneliness declined from 1978 to 2009 (d = -0.26). Study 2 used a representative sample of high school students from the Monitoring the Future project (total N = 385,153). In Study 2, loneliness declined from 1991 to 2012. Declines were similar among White students (d = -0.14), Black students (d = -0.17), male students (d = -0.11), and female students (d = -0.11). Different loneliness factors showed diverging trends. Subjective isolation declined (d = -0.20), whereas social network isolation increased (d = 0.06). We discuss the declines in loneliness within the context of other cultural changes, including changes to group membership and personality.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia david.clark4@uqconnect.edu.au.
authors.forename: D Matthew T
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Natalie J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Loxton
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tobin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: loneliness; meta-analysis; sociability; society