loneliness nisha parikh

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Page 1: Loneliness   Nisha Parikh

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this project is a bona-fide work done by Nisha Parikh

(040414), a student of B.A final year (2006-2007) under my supervision in

St. Francis Degree College for Women (Autonomous) Hyderabad.

Date

Signature of the external examiner Signature of the HOD

(Sr.ChristineFernandes)

Dept. of Psychology

Page 2: Loneliness   Nisha Parikh
Page 3: Loneliness   Nisha Parikh

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.No. Description

Pg.No.

1

Introduction

2

Review of literature

3

Methodology

4

Results and Discussion

5 Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendices

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LONELINESS

Loneliness has been defined as "a sense of isolation that persists over time" (Perse

and Rubin 1990, p. 37). Lonely persons tend to be deficient in communication

skills (Spitzberg and Canary 1985). In turn, these deficiencies isolate people from

the very social activities that might reduce loneliness (Perse and Rubin 1990).

Loneliness is an emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling

of emptiness and isolation. Loneliness is more than just the feeling of wanting

company or wanting to do something with another person. Loneliness is a feeling

of being cut off, disconnected, and/or alienated from other people, so that it feels

difficult or even impossible to have any form of meaningful human contact.

Lonely people often feel empty or hollow inside. Feelings of separation or

isolation from the world are common amongst those that are lonely. The first

record of the word "lonely" being used was in a play by William Shakespeare.

Loneliness should not be equated with being alone. Everyone has times when they

are alone for situational reasons, or because they have chosen to be alone. Being

alone can be experienced as positive, pleasurable, and emotionally refreshing if it

is under the individual's control. Solitude is the state of being alone and secluded

from other people, and often implies having made a conscious choice to be alone

Loneliness is one of the main indicators of social well-being. It reflects an

individual’s subjective evaluation of his or her social participation or isolation.

Perlman and Peplau (1981) formulated loneliness as “the unpleasant experience

that occurs when a person’s network of social relationships is deficient in some

important way, either quantitatively or qualitatively”

Loneliness is a situation that occurs from a lack of quality relationships. This

includes “situations in which a number of existing relationships is smaller than is

considered desirable or admissible, as well as situations where the intimacy one

wishes has not been realized” – De Jong Gierveld (1987). In both definitions,

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loneliness is considered to be an expression of negative feelings of missing

relationships and occurs in individuals of all ages.

Loneliness is one of the possible outcomes of the evaluation of a situation in

which an individual has a small number of relationships. However, many

determinants work together in explaining why some people with small number of

social contacts consider themselves lonely whereas others feel good and

sufficiently embedded. Among these determinants is the presence or absence of an

intimate partner.

Two components of loneliness can be distinguished. Weiss (1973) differentiated

between emotional loneliness, stemming from the absence of an intimate

relationship or a close emotional attachment (e.g., a partner or a best friend), and

social loneliness, stemming from the absence of a broader group of contacts or an

engaging social network (e.g. friends colleagues, and people in the neighborhood.)

Emotional loneliness arises, for example, when a partner relationship dissolves

through widowhood or divorce and is characterized by intense feelings of

emptiness, abandonment, and forlornness. Young people who have moved to

places where they are newcomers frequently report social loneliness. Loneliness is

therefore unwilling solitude. Lonely people who are middle-aged and older tend to

also have problems with alcoholism, depression, weak immune system responses

to illness, impaired sleep and suicide. Loneliness may partly be a genetic legacy,

scientists report in Behavior Genetics.

Psychoanalytic and post-Freudian authors attributed loneliness to a variety of

sources including infantile narcissism and hostility (Zilboorg, 1938), unmet

childhood needs for intimacy (Fromm-Reichman, 1959; Sullivan, 1953), and the

lack of early attachment figures (Bowlby, 1977; Weiss, 1973). Existentialists

displayed equal etiological diversity, seeing it as a normal experience for

achieving deeper self-awareness (Mijuskovic, 1977), a pathological consequence

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of not acknowledging one's feelings (Rogers, 1970), and a manifestation of

anxiety that deepens self-rejection (Moustakas, 1961).

More recently, cognitive theorists have suggested that loneliness evolves from a

discrepancy between desired and achieved relationships (Peplau, Micheli, &

Morasch, 1982; Perlman & Peplau, 1982), a constellation of negative, internal, and

stable self-attributions about relationship deficiencies (Anderson & Arnoult, 1985;

Schultz, & Moore, 1986; Snodgrass, 1987), and irrational beliefs about control of

one's life (Brings, 1986; Hoglund & Collison, 1987). Finally, behaviorists have

argued that loneliness derives from deficiencies in skills that are critical for

developing appropriate intimate and social relationships (de Jong-Gierveld, 1987;

Jones, Hobbs, & Hockenbury, 1982).

The Types of Loneliness

Loneliness: a feeling, usually sad and sometimes devastating, that one

needs more companionship than one is currently getting. William Sadler

(July, 1975), in Science Digest, describes five "causes of loneliness":

1. Interpersonal Loneliness

You miss somebody who was once close to you. This type of loneliness is closely

associated with grief. You're always on the lookout for a new loved one. But, if

you find a new potential partner before you heal, you're so afraid of more rejection

or desertion that you watch him or her like a hawk.

2. Social Loneliness

"The individual feels cut off from a group that he or she feels is important . . .

ostracism, exile. . ." This type of loneliness is often imposed on minority groups.

Defined more accurately, social loneliness is what you feel when you are

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unwillingly cut off from a social group that IS very important for your survival or

well-being, and there's nothing you can do about it right now.

3. Culture Shock

The loneliness that happens when you move to a whole new culture. This probably

includes social loneliness, since most cultures reject foreigners at least somewhat.

4. Cosmic Loneliness

Everybody feels cosmic loneliness sometimes. It's also known as "existential

loneliness," the sense that it's not possible to achieve perfect, complete intimacy

with another person. It's this type of loneliness that turns our attention to a higher

power.

5. Psychological Loneliness

This is the loneliness that comes from the depths of our being, either from our

chemical makeup or from our reactions to past traumas. In Loneliness, Robert

Weiss (1975) writes that loneliness is NOT the same as depression. Lonely people

fear that they will always be lonely; depressed people are sure of it. The lonely

feel sad and discouraged; the depressed have numbed out and just don't care any

more. The lonely cry a lot; the depressed are "cried out." Most important,

loneliness can, potentially at least, drive people to go out and find friends;

depression is more likely to tempt people to give up and just sleep all day.

Male Loneliness

In recent years, social psychologists have expressed concern about the friendless

male. Many studies have concluded that women have better relational skills which

help them to be more successful at making and keeping friends. Women, for

example, are more likely than men to express their emotions and display empathy

and compassion in response to the emotions of others. Men, on the other hand, are

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frequently more isolated and competitive and therefore have fewer (if any) close

friends. Men, in fact, may not even be conscious of their loneliness and isolation.

David Smith lists in his book Men Without Friends the following six

characteristics of men which prove to be barriers to friendship. First, men show an

aversion to showing emotions. Expressing feelings is generally taboo for males. At

a young age, boys receive the cultural message that they are to be strong and stoic.

As men, they shun emotions. Such an aversion makes deep relationships difficult,

thus men find it difficult to make and keep friendships.

Second, men seemingly have an inherent inability to fellowship. In fact, men find

it hard to accept the fact that they need fellowship. If someone suggests lunch, it is

often followed by the response, "Sure, what's up?" Men may get together for

business, sports, or recreation (hunting and fishing), but they rarely do so just to

enjoy each other's company. Centering a meeting on an activity is not bad; it is just

that the conversation often never moves beyond work or sports to deeper levels.

Third, men have inadequate role models. The male macho image prevents strong

friendships since a mask of aggressiveness and strength keeps men from knowing

themselves and others. A fourth barrier is male competition. Men are inordinately

competitive. Men feel they must excel in what they do. Yet this competitive spirit

is frequently a barrier to friendship.

Fifth is an inability to ask for help. Men rarely ask for help because they perceive

it as a sign of weakness. Others simply don't want to burden their family or

colleagues with their problems. In the end, male attempts at self-sufficiency rob

them of fulfilling relationships.

A final barrier is incorrect priorities. Men often have a distorted order of priorities

in which physical things are more important than relationships. Success and status

is determined by material wealth rather than by the number of close friends. H.

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Norman Wright warns: The more a man centers his identity in just one phase of

his life--such as vocation, family, or career--the more vulnerable he is to threats

against his identity and the more prone he is to experience a personal crisis. A man

who has limited sources of identity is potentially the most fragile. Men need to

broaden their basis for identity. They need to see themselves in several roles rather

than just a teacher, just a salesman, just a handsome, strong male, just a husband.

Men tend to limit their friendships and thus their own identity.

CAUSES

People can experience loneliness for many reasons, and many life events are

related to loneliness. The first experience of loneliness for most people is the first

time they are left to themselves as a baby. Loneliness is a very common response

to divorce or the breakup/loss of any important long-term relationship. In these

cases it may stem both from the loss of a specific person, as well as from the

withdrawal from social circles caused by the event or the associated sadness.

Loneliness can be a response to a specific situation or event, such as the death or

extended absence of a loved one. Loneliness may also occur after the birth of a

child, after marriage or after any minor or major life event. Loneliness can occur

in marriages or similar close relationships where there is anger/resentment or a

lack of "loving" communication. Learning to cope with these changes in life

patterns is essential in overcoming loneliness.

Loneliness can also result from low self-esteem, especially if this causes the

affected person to shun social gatherings.

Paradoxically, loneliness frequently occurs in heavily populated cities; in these

cities many people feel utterly alone and cut off, even when surrounded by

thousands or even millions of other people. It is however unclear whether

loneliness is thus a condition aggravated by high population density itself, or

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simply part of the human condition. Certainly, the feeling is well-known even in

societies with much smaller populations. However, the randomness and sheer

number of people that one comes into contact with daily in a city (even if only

briefly), may raise barriers to actually interacting more deeply with them, thus

increasing the feeling of being cut off and alone.

Some say that loneliness has become a major problem of modern times. At the

beginning of the last century families were typically larger, and very few people

lived alone. Today however, the trend has reversed direction: over a quarter of the

U.S. population lived alone in 1998. In 1995, 24 million Americans lived in

single-person households; by 2010, it is estimated that number will have increased

to around 31 million.

Physical separation also often weakens familial bonds. Nowadays, it is not at all

unusual for family members to be separated by hundreds or even thousands of

miles.

Effects of Loneliness

Chronic loneliness (as opposed to the normal loneliness everyone feels from time

to time) is a serious, life-threatening condition. It is associated with an increased

risk of death from cancer as well as stroke and cardiovascular disease. People who

are socially isolated also report poor sleep quality and thus have diminished

restorative processes. Loneliness is also linked with depression, a risk factor for

suicide.

Loneliness can play a part in alcoholism, and in children a lack of social

connections is directly linked to several forms of antisocial and self-destructive

behavior, most notably hostile and delinquent behavior. In both children and

adults, loneliness often has a negative impact on learning and memory. Its effect

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on sleep patterns can have a devastating effect on the ability to function in

everyday life.

Some other effects may not be symptomatic for years. In 2005, results from the

U.S. Framingham Heart Study demonstrated that lonely men had raised levels of

IL-6, a blood chemical linked to heart disease. A 2006 study conducted by the

Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago found

loneliness can add 30 points to a blood pressure reading for adults over the age of

50. Another remarkable finding, from a survey conducted by John Cacioppo, a

psychologist at the University of Chicago, is that doctors say they provide better

medical care to patients who have a strong network of family and friends than they

do to patients who are alone.

Enforced loneliness (solitary confinement) has been a punishment method

throughout history. It is often considered a form of torture.

Underlying Factors Related to Loneliness

Widowhood

It is generally accepted that loneliness is more prevalent among those who are

widowed. Lopata found that loneliness was one of the major problems of

American widows, and Korpeckyj-Cox found that the widowed reported higher

levels of loneliness than married individuals, regardless of gender or presence of

adult children.

Other studies have indicated that those individuals who had recently experienced

the death of a spouse had the highest levels of loneliness and those who lived with

a partner, husband or wife expressed the lowest levels of loneliness. Divorced

individuals living alone have also been found to be more lonely than those who

were married and living with a spouse. In addition, Woodward and Queen found

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that loneliness following widowhood was intensified by the length of the marriage,

with those married 50 or more years being the most likely to experience loneliness

following the death of their spouse. The length of widowhood also appears to be a

factor, as those widowed for five or fewer years were found to be lonelier than

those widowed for more than five years.

Living Arrangements

Regardless of the influence of widowhood, older people who live with a partner or

spouse are generally less lonely than those who live alone.4 Those who are

without a spouse but who live with or near their children have been found to

experience greater well-being and lower levels of loneliness in some studies, but

other studies found no connection between interaction with children and the

experience of loneliness.14 In fact, Holmen and colleagues found that those living

with their children experienced the highest levels of loneliness, followed by those

residing with a brother or sister.

Hicks feel the experience of living in a nursing home is relevant to the experience

of social isolation and loneliness among older people. In this study, the lack of

intimate relationships, increased dependency, and loss (i.e., friends, home,

previous lifestyle, independence and self-identity) were all found to increase the

level of loneliness experienced among older people in nursing homes. The author

concluded that such factors lead to declining health, increased social isolation, and

feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

On the other hand, Andersson also found that older Swedish people who were

socially isolated, who expressed higher levels of loneliness, and who were

experiencing declining health were more likely to move to nursing homes or

seniors' residences. This finding was confirmed by Russell and Cutrona in 1997,

who found that higher levels of loneliness among rural Americans increased the

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likelihood of admission to nursing homes, regardless of age and physical or mental

health status. These researchers suggest that moves to nursing homes may be

sought as a means to enhance social participation and thereby delay further

declines in health.

It remains unclear, however, whether moves to nursing homes are beneficial or

detrimental regarding isolation and loneliness. For example, Hall and Havens

found there was a public perception that nursing homes may indeed be an isolating

environment due to the limited, rather than expanded, opportunity for meaningful

social interaction with others. While there may be lots of people in the immediate

environment, many residents may be virtually immobile in their own rooms or

lack opportunities for satisfying interactions with others. It was also suggested that

family and friends may be less likely to visit a nursing home if they feel the

environment is unwelcome, or when communication is difficult because of

hearing, speech or cognition problems.

Gender

Most researchers have found that women are more likely than men to express

loneliness, but some research has found no link between gender and loneliness.

Hall and Havens found gender to be a significant predictor of social isolation, but

not of loneliness. Women were found to be especially disadvantaged because they

are more likely to be widowed and to live alone. Women's advantage over men in

life expectancy means that they are more likely to outlive their spouse, other

relatives and friends, to live alone, and to experience chronic health problems

which limit social interaction.

However, men may have a harder time coping with the loss of their spouse, as it

has been suggested they are often less prepared than women for such an event and

are less likely to confide in others regarding their grief. Women often have a larger

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social support system than men and more close confidants to help with emotional

stresses, including the grief experienced after the loss of a spouse. Typically, men

have fewer intimate contacts than women, and have less contact with children,

grandchildren and other extended family members.

MIDDLE AGE

When reaching a chronological age of forty, it is believed that an individual

has reached middle age or middle adulthood Many things change during this stage

of life Among the most common changes, the most noticeable are the physical

changes; and these vary from individual to individual Physical changes in middle

aged adults are: baldness, weight changes, mostly gaining, loss of bone mass, also

known as osteoporosis, gray hair and the most noticeable among men and women,

wrinkles.

Every individual should be well prepared physically and psychologically for

middle adulthood First of all, the human body is not as responsive anymore

Metabolism is not as fast as before, it slows down tremendously causing a yo-yo

effect in weight Most of the changes have to do with gaining weight and not being

able to lose it It is important to note that not only metabolism slows down, but

there also other physical changes involved with reaching middle adulthood that

can be very harmful One of these problems is osteoporosis, which simply means

the weakening of the bone structure of the body The loss of bone mass can be very

dangerous The foundation frame of the body can lose strength making simple

tasks more difficult A person with advanced osteoporosis may have problems

reaching objects form the floor Moreover, if a person with osteoporosis breaks a

bone, for him or her is more difficult recuperate than for a person who has taken

care of his or her bones.

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Middle-age crisis also come into play at this stage People start experiencing more

stress caused by the many different situations that involve important decisions

Also the physical changes people go through put much pressure in their lives

Stress can be very damaging to the body causing heart decease, irregularities with

many vital organs, among other noticeable and harmful problems to the health of

the individual experiencing stress.

Middle-age problems are termed as mid-life crisis and middle age blues. Mid-life

crisis has traditionally been studied and defined in terms of men's experiences and

is sometimes generalized to women as well as it is defined for women in relation

to the physiological experience of menopause. But mid-life crisis is experienced

differently by women not only in relation to menopause and not entirely within the

same framework as men. There are many physical and emotional symptoms that

appear during menopausal period due to changes in the imbalance of internal

hormonal milieu and are self-limiting. Symptoms vary from woman to woman.

During 40–60 years of age, physical changes clearly appear like graying heir,

eyesight weak, fat gain, skin dryness, lack of strength etc. In this period social

changes also take place. Changes in family set-up and responsibility often more

negative than positive, directly affect the psychosocial status of women. A study

on working women, family environment and mental health indicated that there

were significant differences in the family environment and mental health of

working and non-working women. Problems of elderly women are often more

discussed than problems of middle aged women. However, the problems whether

it is physical, social or psychological took birth in middle age which may emerge

in old age. Essential care and some preventive steps if not taken in middle age may

result in serious problems with the onset of old age. The problems of working

class middle-aged women like emotional, physical, familial, and social and work

place environment etc., which may affect their overall health status.

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Middle age is a non-specific stage in life when a person is neither young nor old,

but somewhere in between. Various attempts have been made to define the range

and these tend towards the third quarter of the average life span of human beings.

According to Collins Dictionary, this is "... usually considered to occur

approximately between the ages of 40 and 60", The OED gives a similar definition

but with a later start point "... the period between youth and old age, about 45 to

60." Whilst Erik Erikson sees it ending a little later and defines middle adulthood

as between 40 and 65. Thus, in the western world, middle age is somewhere

between 40 and 65.

In many Western societies this is seen to be the period of life in which a person is

expected to have settled down in terms of their sense of identity and place in the

world, be raising a family (if their lifestyle includes this pursuit), and have

established career stability. It is also a period often associated with the potential

onset of mid-life crises.

Most women go through the menopause during middle age. There is often claimed

to be considerable prejudice against older people in employment and in the media.

This is based on the claim that, given a choice between an old person and young

person (often with less ability), the young person will disproportionately often be

chosen by an employer. The media focus much less on older people because

younger people are influenced more easily, and will most likely remain influenced

for the rest of their lives, for instance choosing brands they are familiar with.

Some people are challenging the concept that middle age is something to dread.

They assert that with the right attitude and careful planning, middle age can be

truly a person's best years.

Development during adulthood was ignored by Freudian analysts for decades. It

was assumed that adult functioning was a static period that followed the dynamic

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period of adolescence. There are two major groups of theories regarding adult

development. The first group describes psychological development as a process

that proceeds in stages. It is an extension of the life-cycle. These theories are

called stage demand process theories. The second group of theories describes

development as a process that proceeds in response to situations or specific

stressors. This second group of theories is called situation demand process

theories. In reality the best explanation for psychological development during

adulthood is a combination of both groups of theories. Age related stress and the

accompanying physiologic changes that occur during adulthood produce major

effects on the health of middle aged.

Stage demand process theories

Several theoreticians have described major life-cycle /stage theories of adult

development. The best known is that of Erik Erikson. Erikson's theory revolves

around the concept of periods of crisis in which age and stage specific internal

conflicts occur. Erikson suggested the crisis for middle age could be described as a

conflict between generativity and stagnation. In short this describes the conflict

between the drive to generate and the tendency to stagnate during middle age.

For many persons middle age is the time during which you reach your peak

professionally. Either you have realized that your goals of youth are not yet

attainable, or you have reached them. The result can be similar. The typical

responses to the crisis of middle age are either self absorption or involvement with

the next generation. Involvement with the next generation is seen as an attempt to

leave a part of yourself for society. As such it is not necessarily procreative. The

self absorption is often a response to the realization that your time is finite. A

pressure to change occurs. This may result in a change in the guiding question of

"what would my parents have me do?" to "what do I want to do?". It is a

continuation of the separation-individuation process that began during childhood.

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In some ways this time is similar to adolescence. This has lead to the

characterization of middle age as a second adolescence.

At times the pressure to change can be quite intense with the result of what has

been termed the mid-life crisis. Clearly this time has several physiological as well

as psychosocial changes. The ability to adequately confront the crisis and stress of

middle age is determined by the coping resources that were developed during

earlier developmental struggles. As such simplistic explanations of behavior

during this period are inadequate.

The stage demand process theories suggest that the stressors are intrinsic to

the specific life-cycle stage. In reality it should be remembered that the middle

aged adults of the 1950's and 1960's had similar situational demands. This cohort

went through the great depression, WW II, Korean war, Vietnam era, and the

generational shift of the 60's. The fact that these people had similar responses to

middle age could be due to a cohort effect and not a product of a specific life

stage.

Other than Erikson there are two major contributors to life cycle theories of

middle age. Levinson and Gould developed theories that were probably remnants

of their psychoanalytic training. Levinson emphasized that there were transitional

periods that were separated by relatively stable periods of psychological

functioning. The transitional periods yield to periods of stability following a

consolidation of achievements internally and externally. Gould described a

somewhat similar model but framed it in terms of the change between childhood

and adulthood fantasies. During middle age Gould describes the progressive

concerns with one's health, loss of loved ones and personal status, and ultimately

death. In his model these concerns confronted childhood fantasies of safety and

ultimate justice. Successful transition in Gould's model requires the development

of internal controls based on an accurate assessment of reality and not childhood

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fantasies. A common criticism of these models is the degree of 'psycho-babble'

used to describe common events. Generally, these theorists have said basically that

there are characteristic stressors throughout adult life that challenge us to

adapt. Successful adaptation increases your abilities and prepares you for the

next stressor.

Situational demand process theories

Two theorists identified specific stressors as fundamentally important in middle

age. Benedek studied the successful and unsuccessful adaptation of women to

middle age. She identified menopause as a fundamental stressor. The way a

woman handled menopause determined her middle age adjustment. Benedek

identified two basic ways in which women adjusted. For some women, menopause

resulted in a sense of a loss of femininity and loss of self esteem while in others it

resulted in a greater sense of freedom and sexual expression that was accompanied

by a greater drive towards generativity. The role of the physiologic changes has

not been adequately studied.

The other specific stressor seen as fundamental to middle age development is the

realization of death as imminent. The realization of a finite amount of time left

usually appears as the person has to deal with the loss of friends and family and

personal health. Jacques described the increased awareness of death and it's

impact on a person as a mid-life crisis. Successful adaptation is a mellowing and

change in personality that is accompanied by increased decisiveness in decision

making. Such as with retirement planning etc. Attempts to deny the inevitability of

death or being overwhelmed by the futility of life are seen as unsuccessful

adaptations to the mid-life crisis.

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Psychosocial Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation

• This stage covers the period of early adulthood when people are exploring

personal relationships.

• Erikson believed it was vital that people develop close, committed

relationships with other people. Those who are successful at this step will

develop relationships that are committed and secure.

• Remember that each step builds on skills learned in previous steps. Erikson

believed that a strong sense of personal identity was important to

developing intimate relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those

with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships and are

more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression.

Stagnation

• During adulthood, we continue to build our lives, focusing on our career

and family.

• Those who are successful during this phase will feel that they are

contributing to the world by being active in their home and community.

Those who fail to attain this skill will feel unproductive and uninvolved in

the world.

Psychosocial Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair

• This phase occurs during old age and is focused on reflecting back on life.

• Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has

been wasted and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left

with feelings of bitterness and despair.

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• Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of

integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few

regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain

wisdom, even when confronting death.

A mid-life crisis is an emotional state of doubt and anxiety in which a person

becomes uncomfortable with the realization that life is halfway over. It commonly

involves reflection on what the individual has done with his or her life up to that

point, often with feelings that not enough was accomplished. The individuals

experiencing such may feel boredom with their lives, jobs, or their partners, and

may feel a strong desire to make changes in these areas. The condition is also

called the beginning of individuation, a process of self-actualization that continues

on to death. The condition is most common ranging from the ages of 35-50, and

affects men and women differently. Mid life crisis last about 3-10 years in men

and 2-5 years in women, but length may vary in some people.

During middle age, many changing factors can affect personality development.

These factors include:

• work/career

• marriage/spousal relationships

• adult children

• aging parents/death of parents

• physical changes associated with aging

There is some question whether a "mid-life crisis" is any different from "a crisis

occurring in mid-life." One study found that only 23% of participants had what

they called a "mid-life crisis," but in digging deeper, only 8% of the total said the

crisis was associated with realizations about aging. The balance (15%) had major

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life experiences or transitions (divorce, loss of a job, etc.) in middle age, but they

could have happened at any other stage of life.

SELF CONCEALMENT

Psychological research shows that keeping secrets, especially distressing ones, can

make the secret keeper sick. But we do not know if keeping a secret per se causes

more illness symptoms or if it is something about the type of person who is

secretive that tends to make them sicker.

For a century, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other clinicians have noted that

patients often hold back important information from their therapist. This is so even

if they want to get better and they know the therapist wants them to get better too.

This is called "self-concealment". The "self-concealer" keeps secrets that are

perhaps too painful to recall, too stressful to reveal, or even too frightening to

describe. In On the Beginning of Treatment (1913), Sigmund Freud described the

physical and psychological consequences of patients concealing information from

the analyst. It is now known that patients "self-conceal" in both long-term and

short term therapeutic situations. And they keep both large secrets as well as small

ones. Secrets seem to be of all kinds too. Judging from what patients do, more

people are "self-concealers" than not.

This particular problem is part of a larger topic, namely the importance of

concealment as a condition of civilization. Concealment includes not only secrecy

and deception, but also reticence and non acknowledgment. There is much more

going on inside us all the time than we are willing to express, and civilization

would be impossible if we could all read each other's minds. Apart from

everything else there is the sheer chaotic tropical luxuriance of the inner life. To

quote Simmel: "All we communicate to another individual by means of words or

perhaps in another fashion -- even the most subjective, impulsive, intimate matters

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-- is a selection from that psychological-real whole whose absolutely exact report

(absolutely exact in terms of content and sequence) would drive everybody into

the insane asylum." As children we have to learn gradually not only to express

what we feel but to keep many thoughts and feelings to ourselves, in order to

maintain relations with other people on an even keel. We also have to learn,

especially in adolescence, not to be overwhelmed by a consciousness of other

people's awareness of and reaction to ourselves -- so that our inner lives can be

carried on under the protection of an exposed public self over which we have

enough control to be able to identify with it, at least in part

Kelly and Achter (1995) investigated the relationship between a newly recognized

psychological construct, Self-Concealment, and a person’s actual and perceived

likelihood of seeking professional psychological help. Borrowing from Larson and

Chastain (1990), Kelly and Achter conceptualized Self-Concealment as a

predisposition to hide distressing and potentially embarrassing personal

information. Understanding the construct of self-concealment is highly relevant

for counselors, because the focus of psychotherapy often involves the client’s

revelation of his/her most intimate and disturbing experiences.

Self-concealment is also important because not sharing intimate distressing

information has been found to hinder psychological adjustment, physical health

and healing processes e.g. (Berger and Kelly 1986; N.S.Evans 1976; Ichiyama et

al. 1993; McCartney, 1995; Pennebaker & Susman, 1988). For e.g. keeping

intimate information secret has been associated with more interpersonal conflicts

(Straits-Troster et al, 1994), greater depression, (S. Evans and Katona, 1995), and

inferior recovery from severe psychological trauma, (Harvey, Stein, Olsen and

Roberts, 1995; Orbuch, Harvey, Davis, & Merbach, 1994).

Kelly and Achter (1995) found that high levels of self-concealment predicted

negative thoughts towards psychotherapy but that both positive attitudes towards

psychotherapy and high levels of self-concealment were predictive of greater

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perceived likelihood of seeking counseling. Moreover high self-concealers were

over 50% more likely to have seen a counselor than were low self-concealers.

They also reported that neither distress nor social support was a significant

predictor of perceived likelihood of seeking help (cf. Barker, Pistrang, Shapiro,

and Shaw 1990; Cunningham, Sobell, Sobell, & Gaskin, 1994; Deane &

Chamberlain, & Braithwaite, 1994; Ying, 1990).

Kelly and Achter (1995) explained that high self-concealers “represent an

enigmatic group of individuals: they are more likely to seek counseling but less

likely to view the counseling process favorably than are low-concealers. These

authors hypothesized that the self-concealers’ less favorable attitudes towards

psychotherapy were a reflection of their fear of having to reveal intimacies to a

therapist. Kelly and Achter speculated that although high self-concealers were

more fearful of psychotherapy, they were more likely to seek professional help

because they lacked access to help from social support networks.

Small lies are a big part of our lives. We tell them for convenience and comfort, to

smooth things over for others as much as for ourselves. “It is alright with me,” we

say when its not. “I’ll call you,” we insist when we won’t. And perhaps the most

pervasive prevarication of all, we say we’re “fine” when we aren’t. “The most

common lies are told to avoid conflicts,” says a psychotherapist Susan Campbell,

Ph.D., author of Saying what’s real: seven keys to authentic communication and

Relationship success. “People want harmony. But this compulsive quest for

harmony gets in the way of true harmony.”

To admit the truth to oneself and speak it out to others can be difficult. But the

reward far outweighs the risks. “The most important thing that you can do for your

own personal growth is to be honest with yourself.” Says life coach Harriette Cole,

author of Choosing Truth: living an authentic life. Living truthfully is an avenue to

self-healing says Campbell. It’s a crucial tool to help people face old fears of

rejection and abandonment and wounds that they may have acquired in childhood.

“Being honest helps you stop avoiding emotional pain so you’re more able to be

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with what is,” she says. “Getting real is an inner practice for bringing you into the

moment.” The result can be a clearing away of psychological clutter, greater

freedom from fear, and a kind of clarity that leads to a stronger sense of well-

being.

Research on the benefits of disclosing versus suppressing feelings suggests that

doing the former can reduce your susceptibility to illness. James. W. Pennebaker,

a PhD, a professor of Psychology at the university of Texas and an author of

Writing to Heal: a guided journal for recovering from trauma and emotional

upheaval, has conducted numerous clinical studies on the psychological and

physiological effects of talking and writing about emotional experiences. His

conclusion, “emotional expression may have important links with the functioning

of the immune system.”

Dale Larson, PhD, a professor of Psychology at a university in California,

developed a self-concealment scale that is widely used in the helping professions.

“We have found that self-concealment is associated with more physical symptoms

and higher levels of depression and anxiety” he says. Apparently both body and

mind have to work extra hard to lie and keep secrets.

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Review of literature.

Women face different problems at different age group. Gender differences led

women to bear dual role responsibility, which starts affecting health status in

middle age with the onset of physical decline. Working women's problems are of

three types viz., environmental, social and psychological. In each of them the

problems emerge due to the stained situations at home and work place. In turn

they are due to two factors, one is the inner conflict due to dual commitment and

concern, and the other is the practical difficulty of combing the dual commitment.

The aim of the present work was to assess the psychosocial and family status of

middle aged (45-55 yrs) women working as school teacher. Total number of

subjects selected for study was 50 (n=50). An interview schedule and Psycho

Social Stress Scale questionnaire were simultaneously administered to the selected

subjects. Results indicate that women's psychosocial health status may likely to get

affected during middle age due to psychological changes occurring in this phase

primarily because of biological changes and changes in the familial environment.

Programmed interventions like, meditation, relaxation and other sensitization

programs, aiming at lifestyle changes will change their attitudes, behaviors,

cognitions, quality of life, thereby maintaining their overall status

Department of Psychology, Iowa State University Ames 50011-3180, USA.

In this article I evaluated the psychometric properties of the UCLA Loneliness

Scale (Version 3). Using data from prior studies of college students, nurses,

teachers, and the elderly, analyses of the reliability, validity, and factor structure of

this new version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale were conducted. Results indicated

that the measure was highly reliable, both in terms of internal consistency

(coefficient alpha ranging from .89 to .94) and test-retest reliability over a 1-year

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period (r = .73). Convergent validity for the scale was indicated by significant

correlations with other measures of loneliness. Construct validity was supported

by significant relations with measures of the adequacy of the individual's

interpersonal relationships, and by correlations between loneliness and measures

of health and well-being. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a model

incorporating a global bipolar loneliness factor along with two method factor

reflecting direction of item wording provided a very good fit to the data across

samples. Implications of these results for future measurement research on

loneliness are discussed.

Social support and positive health practices in young adults.

Loneliness as a mediating variable.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which loneliness mediates

the relationship between perceived social support and positive health practices of

young adults, ages 22 to 34, by testing a mediational model of relationships in a

three-variable system developed through theory and previous research. Data were

collected from 70 young adults who were attending classes in a large urban

university. They responded to the PRQ85-Part II, the Revised UCLA Loneliness

Scale, the Lifestyle Questionnaire, and a demographic data sheet. Statistically

significant correlations were found between perceived social support and positive

health practices, perceived social support and loneliness, and loneliness and

positive health practices. A series of regression analyses designed to test for

mediation were performed. The results indicated that loneliness is a dominant

mediator in the relationship between perceived social support and positive health

practice. Implications for practices are discussed.

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Methodology

Objective:

The researcher’s objective is to determine whether there is any gender differences

among the middle aged (40-45 years) in the levels of Loneliness and Self-

Concealment.

Hypothesis:

Research Instrument:

The researcher used the questionnaire method and the questionnaires used are

• Loneliness Questionnaire

• Self- concealment scale, developed by Larson and Chastain (1990). This

scale was designed to measures the extent to which people typically conceal

or disclose personal information that they perceive as distressing and

negative.

Sample:

For the purpose of the present study a sample of 45 was taken.

a) 15 Working Women from the age group of 40-45 years.

b) 15 House Wives from the age group of 40-45 years.

c) 15 Working Men from the age group of 40-45 years.

Variables

Independent Variable-

Gender i.e. Working Women, House wives, Working Men.

Dependent Variable-

Loneliness and Self-Concealment.

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Data Collection:

Procedure

In order to obtain the data needed the researcher distributed the questionnaires in

various apartments, met many acquaintances, and also gave a few questionnaires

in various offices.

The questionnaires were distributed to 15 working men, 15 working women,

and 15 house wives.

The researcher established a rapport with the subject and then gave them the

following instructions regarding the questionnaires,

• This questionnaire is purely for academic purpose.

• For each statement, decide whether it describes you or your situation or

not. If it does seem to describe you or your situation, mark it TRUE (T). If

not, mark it FALSE (F).

• Use a 5- point scale to indicate the extent to which you agree

With each statement, with 1= strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree.

For the second part of the questionnaire.

• Work quickly and don’t spend too much time over any statement. We want

your first reaction not a very drawn out thought process.

• Please do not skip any questions.

• If a particular question is not relevant to you, imagine yourself in that

situation and answer the question.

• There are no right or wrong answers as this is not a test of intelligence or

ability but simply a measure of the way you act.

• Mark your best possible answers honestly.

• All the Answers are strictly CONFIDENTIAL so please be as accurate

and truthful as possible.

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After the clarification of all their doubts they were then asked to fill up the

questionnaires.

The 45 questionnaires wee later collected and then the scores were calculated

using the scoring given.

The results were then interpreted.

Data Analysis:

Scoring:

Loneliness scale:

Scoring on the scale is determined in the following way: For items with no asterisk

next to the item number, each marking of T (TRUE) is given one point. For items

with an asterisk, each marking of F (FALSE) is given one point. The scale

measures loneliness in three types of relationships, namely friendships (Fr),

relationships with family (Fam), and relationships with larger groups (Gr).

Self-concealment scale:

To calculate your score, simply add your answer values together. The higher the

score, the more is the tendency to self-conceal.

Statistics Used:

The statistics used to compute the data are

1. Mean

2. Standard Deviation

3. t Ratio

4. Critical Ratio

5. Correlation

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Results and discussion:

Table I indicates the combined scores of loneliness and self-concealment among

WORKING WOMEN and HOUSE WIVES

WORKING WOMEN HOUSE WIVES

LONELINESS SELF-

CONCEALMENT

LONELINESS SELF-

CONCEALMENT

14 14 28 19

8 18 18 29

2 18 18 16

8 27 17 33

10 22 28 30

9 11 15 18

7 16 22 30

14 10 25 26

16 19 14 21

22 29 28 39

20 32 20 34

3 19 11 31

16 10 11 32

13 34 13 20

22 29 11 18

TOTAL 200 308 274 493

Mean 13.3 20.5 18.2 32.8

S.D 6.16 7.71 5.71 9.43

T-Ratio for Loneliness= 2.22(highly significant)

T-Ratio for Self-Concealment=3.78(highly significant)

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Table II indicates the combined scores of loneliness and self-concealment among

WORKING WOMEN and WORKING MEN

WORKING WOMEN WORKING MEN

LONELINESS SELF-

CONCEALMENT

LONELINESS SELF-

CONCEALMENT

14 14 4 18

8 18 6 20

2 18 3 10

8 27 13 12

10 22 6 24

9 11 3 10

7 16 12 15

14 10 14 18

16 19 10 19

22 29 14 25

20 32 5 23

3 19 9 27

16 10 4 25

13 34 7 17

22 29 22 19

TOTAL 200 308 132 302

Mean 13.3 20.5 8.8 20.5

S.D 6.16 7.71 5.006 5.85

T-Ratio for loneliness=2.14(highly significant)

T-Ratio for Self-Concealment=0.14(not significant)

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Discussion

Objectives

• The researcher’s objective is to determine whether there is any gender

differences among the middle aged (40-45 years) in the levels of Loneliness

and Self-Concealment.

Interpretation of the tables:

The researcher therefore