Abstract
The purpose of the present paper was to explore children's conceptualisation of loneliness and to examine the link between children's reports of loneliness, being alone, and their conceptualisation of loneliness. Children (N = 61) in middle childhood (9 - 11 years) responded to a question about their experience of loneliness and completed the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction scale. Results showed that the majority of children explained loneliness by referring to both social deficits and distressing emotions. New to this area of research were children's references to self-attributions (e.g., having no courage to talk about their situation). As hypothesised, few children made references to being alone when describing loneliness, and there was no difference in children's reports of loneliness depending on whether or not children referred to being alone. Surprisingly, children's reports of loneliness did not differ depending on their ability to conceptualise it. The subjective nature of loneliness and the importance of peer relationships is discussed.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.