Loneliness and Social Isolation [chapter]

Jenny de Jong Gierveld, Theo van Tilburg, Pearl A. Dykstra, Anita L. Vangelisti, Daniel Perlman
The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships  
Loneliness is nowadays considered to be one of the main problems in society. The negative experience of a discrepancy between the desired and the achieved personal network of relationships is common and affects both younger and older adults. This chapter first addresses well-established aspects and new developments in the main concepts of loneliness and social isolation, the measuring instruments and the prevalence of loneliness. The chapter continues by an overview of theoretical ideas
more » ... g loneliness, focusing on individuallevel and societal predisposing characteristics as well as on genetic/evolutionary perspectives on the onset and continuation of loneliness. The main part of the chapter is dedicated to empirical evidence from many sources and disciplines including psychology, sociology and epidemiological sciences.
doi:10.1017/cbo9780511606632.027 fatcat:rvjhgpezqnekvlmridgys267ki