Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance
Loneliness is a prevalent condition with adverse effects on physical and mental health. Evolutionary theories suggest it evolved to drive people to reconnect. However, chronic loneliness may result in a negative social bias and self-preservation behaviors, paradoxically driving individuals away from...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1135 |
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| author | Nira Saporta Dirk Scheele Jana Lieberz Fine Stuhr-Wulff René Hurlemann Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory |
| author_facet | Nira Saporta Dirk Scheele Jana Lieberz Fine Stuhr-Wulff René Hurlemann Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory |
| author_sort | Nira Saporta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Loneliness is a prevalent condition with adverse effects on physical and mental health. Evolutionary theories suggest it evolved to drive people to reconnect. However, chronic loneliness may result in a negative social bias and self-preservation behaviors, paradoxically driving individuals away from social interactions. Lonely people often feel they are not close to anyone; however, little is known about their interpersonal distance preferences. During COVID-19, many experienced situational loneliness related to actual social isolation. Therefore, there was a unique opportunity to examine both chronic and situational (COVID-19-related) loneliness. In the present study, 479 participants completed an online task that experimentally assessed interpersonal distance preferences in four conditions—passively being approached by a friend or a stranger, and actively approaching a friend or a stranger. Results show that high chronic loneliness was related to a greater preferred distance across conditions. Intriguingly, by contrast, high COVID-19-related loneliness was related to a smaller preferred distance across conditions. These findings provide further support for the evolutionary theory of loneliness: situational loneliness indeed seems to drive people towards reconnection, while chronic loneliness seems to drive people away from it. Implications for the amelioration of chronic loneliness are discussed based on these findings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:51:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df31b81a21134d3ea8b1d1d2ac78447f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:51:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-df31b81a21134d3ea8b1d1d2ac78447f2023-11-22T12:13:36ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-08-01119113510.3390/brainsci11091135Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal DistanceNira Saporta0Dirk Scheele1Jana Lieberz2Fine Stuhr-Wulff3René Hurlemann4Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory5School of Psychological Science, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, IsraelDivision of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, 53105 Bonn, GermanyDivision of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, 53105 Bonn, GermanySchool of Psychological Science, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, IsraelDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, GermanySchool of Psychological Science, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, IsraelLoneliness is a prevalent condition with adverse effects on physical and mental health. Evolutionary theories suggest it evolved to drive people to reconnect. However, chronic loneliness may result in a negative social bias and self-preservation behaviors, paradoxically driving individuals away from social interactions. Lonely people often feel they are not close to anyone; however, little is known about their interpersonal distance preferences. During COVID-19, many experienced situational loneliness related to actual social isolation. Therefore, there was a unique opportunity to examine both chronic and situational (COVID-19-related) loneliness. In the present study, 479 participants completed an online task that experimentally assessed interpersonal distance preferences in four conditions—passively being approached by a friend or a stranger, and actively approaching a friend or a stranger. Results show that high chronic loneliness was related to a greater preferred distance across conditions. Intriguingly, by contrast, high COVID-19-related loneliness was related to a smaller preferred distance across conditions. These findings provide further support for the evolutionary theory of loneliness: situational loneliness indeed seems to drive people towards reconnection, while chronic loneliness seems to drive people away from it. Implications for the amelioration of chronic loneliness are discussed based on these findings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1135lonelinesschronic lonelinessinterpersonal distanceCOVID-19social interactionsituational loneliness |
| spellingShingle | Nira Saporta Dirk Scheele Jana Lieberz Fine Stuhr-Wulff René Hurlemann Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance Brain Sciences loneliness chronic loneliness interpersonal distance COVID-19 social interaction situational loneliness |
| title | Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance |
| title_full | Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance |
| title_fullStr | Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance |
| title_short | Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance |
| title_sort | opposing association of situational and chronic loneliness with interpersonal distance |
| topic | loneliness chronic loneliness interpersonal distance COVID-19 social interaction situational loneliness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1135 |
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