A Lonely Time to Live: Assessing the Severity and Chronicity of Loneliness in Emerging Adults

Severe and chronic forms of loneliness are thought to contribute to declines in both mental and physical health. Although the impacts of loneliness are well-established, little is known about the extent to which more severe and chronic forms of loneliness impede on individuals’ functioning and well-being. This oversight is in large part due to the lack of an adequate measure that more fully assesses the severity and chronicity of loneliness. By extension, little is understood about the extent to which severe and chronic forms of loneliness affect emerging adults in general and in challenging times (e.g., during the pandemic). Considering these observations, three multi-method studies were conducted to address this gap in the literature. Study One is a qualitative study conducted during the height of the COVID-19 public health crisis which found that both internal (personal) and external (social and situational) mental health concerns emerged as themes related to the perception and experience of loneliness (N = 37). Study Two (N = 289) and Study Three (N = 371) both involved collecting data from two self-report online surveys during ensuing stages of the pandemic to test the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale (the Severe Enduring Loneliness Factors Questionnaire; SELF) and the extent to which it is predictive of risk and resilience indicators above existing loneliness scales with samples exclusively composed of emerging adults. Overall, findings suggest that it is useful to view and use the measure as two separate subscales that individually evaluate the severity and chronicity of loneliness. As well, the majority of regression analyses showed that both factors of the SELF were either individually or simultaneously predictive, although not uniquely predictive, of the majority of outcomes such as higher levels of depression and shame and lower levels of mattering to others. Notably, an enduring sense of loneliness was uniquely predictive of lower levels of total hope. Study Two compared participants identifying no chronic loneliness (N = 29) with those reporting chronic loneliness to a high degree (N = 84), as well as Study Three (no chronic loneliness, N = 33; high chronic loneliness, N = 125). Both studies found significant, consistent group differences in psychological strengths and vulnerabilities between those reporting an absence versus a heightened level of chronic loneliness. Findings from the present series of studies suggest that the SELF questionnaire shows promise not just in terms of demonstrating sound psychometric properties but also with respect to providing a more comprehensive understanding of the kinds of loneliness that are characterized as more extreme and persistent. The implications of these findings and recommendations for further advancements pertaining to the research and clinical applications of this work are outlined and discussed.