The Experience of Loneliness in Adolescence: a Cross Cultural Comparison

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study is an examination of the influence of cultural background on adolescents' experience of loneliness. One hundred participants were recruited from Canadian and 206 from Portuguese high schools. They answered an 82-item questionnaire. The questionnaire is composed of five subscales, namely: Emotional distress, Social inadequacy and alienation, Growth and discovery, Interpersonal isolation, and Self-alienation. Results revealed significant differences in the experience of loneliness across cultures. Gender differences between and within the cultures were also examined.