Social identity theory (SIT) is a robust theory that explains in-group versus out-group behaviors. Two qualities of one's social identity include emotional connection and social connection with others, which someone who is experiencing loneliness tends to lack in their current situation. This dissertation explored whether when one's social identity becomes salient it results in a lower evaluation of one's current state of loneliness. An experiment was conducted in which college student participants, who were 18 years of age or older and currently enrolled in college courses, were randomly assigned to a social identity saliency group (college student) or 1 of 3 control conditions (personal identity group, cognitive control condition, and no prime condition). The sample consisted of 207 participants of which 189 were analyzed for social loneliness and 190 were analyzed for emotional loneliness, after excluding participants who did not meet scoring criteria. To analyze the data a planned contrast procedure was conducted in which the social identity group's mean was compared to the combined means of the 3 control conditions. Results indicated that when social identity is made salient, participants report a lower level of emotional and social loneliness when compared to the other 3 conditions. Loneliness, which is being considered a major public health crisis, is becoming more common in modern society, making finding mechanisms to reduce loneliness important. This research supports the notion that social identification can reduce one's evaluation of loneliness. As an example, from the findings in this research, to reduce loneliness among college students, college programs should focus on the positive attributions of being a college student.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Syfte: Kunskapsöversiktens syfte var att sammanfatta kunskapsläget avseende äldres ensamhet. Studiens frågeställningar var: (1) Vilka faktorer bidrar till upplevd ensamhet hos äldre människor? (2) Finns det skillnader i upplevd ensamhet mellan äldre kvinnor och äldre män? Metod: Att genom en selektiv kunskapsöversikt analysera studiens valda primärdokument utifrån studiens valda teman: rollförlust, hälsa och kön. Studiens primärdokument har sökts i databaserna ProQuest (Social Sciences), Diva och SAGE Journals online och består till största delen av kollegialt granskade forskningsstudier, artiklar och rapporter publicerade under åren 1985-2012. Resultaten i studien har tolkats genom två teorier, livsloppsperspektivet och teorin om gerotranscendens. Resultat: Studiens resultat visade att ensamhetsupplevelser inte är något som skulle kunna sägas vara särskilt framträdande för just äldre människor. För de flesta personer i den tidiga ålderdomen, det vill säga personer som ingår i den så kallade tredje åldern innebar åldrandet en tid av ökad insikt och självförverkligande. Det visade sig även att ensamheten många gånger var självvald och upplevdes som något positiv. För äldre människor som befann sig i den fjärde åldern tenderade dock ensamheten att öka i takt med stigande ålder. Förlust av maka eller make innebar ökade ensamhetskänslor. Ett gott hälsotillstånd samt god fysisk hälsa bidrog på ett positivt sätt för att motverka ensamhetsupplevelsen hos äldre människor. Könsspecifika skillnader gällande upplevd ensamhet hos äldre människor var inte helt entydiga relaterat till studiens primärdokument. Dock redovisades övervägande empiriskt material som visade att äldre kvinnor generellt kan sägas uppleva ensamhet i större utsträckning än äldre män. / Aim: The aim of this literature overview was to summarize the state of knowledge regarding the elderly loneliness. Study questions were: (1) Which factors contribute to perceived loneliness in older people? (2) Are there any differences in perceived loneliness among older women and older men? Method: Through a literature overview analyzing selected science based documents by the selected themes: the role of loss, health and gender. The science based documents has been found in the databases ProQuest (Social Sciences), Diva and SAGE Journals Online and are mainly peer-reviewed research studies, articles and reports published between years 1985-2012. The results of the literature overview were interpreted by theories, the Life Course perspective and the theory of Gerotranscendence. Results: The findings show that loneliness is not something particularly prominent for just older people. For most people in early old age, people who are part of the so-called third age, aging is a time of increased awareness and fulfilment. It was also found that loneliness often was self-selected and seen as something positive. Loneliness tended to increase with increasing age for older people who were in the fourth age. Loss of spouse intended to increased loneliness. Overall good health, such as good physical health contributed in a positive way to counteract loneliness experience of older people. Gender-specific differences in the perceived loneliness for older people were not entirely correlated to the selected science based documents. However, predominantly empirical data showed that older women experience loneliness greater than older men.

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) are a popular type of online video game. While these games and their players have been studied previously, there is gap in the literature that examines the relationship between one’s motivation to play MMOGs and loneliness, depression, and problematic use. For this study, 440 players of World of Warcraft (WoW), a popular MMOG, completed a demographics questionnaire and four measures, including Williams, Yee, & Caplan’s (2008) motivation measure, Peter’s & Malesky’s (2008) World of Warcraft-specific Problematic Usage-Engagement Questionnaire, UCLA’s Loneliness scale, and The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Results from quantitative analyses suggest that MMO players who are motivated to play for reasons of achievement and immersion are more likely to experience problematic use than those persons who play for social motivations. Loneliness and depression were only positively related with immersion motivated players, and there exists a significant negative relationship between social motivation and depression. These results suggest that gamers who play WoW for immersive reasons are the most at-risk in comparison to their peers. Implications for counseling, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Abstract In March 2010, BusinessNext magazine examined Taiwan¡¦s top 100 most popular website, and virtual community websites occupied approximately 25% of the spots. The social networking site ¡§Facebook¡¨ is particularly notable because although it was the first time it entered the rankings, Facebook placed second. Virtual community websites are this year¡¦s most popular type of website. Among 15 to 20 year-olds, network utilization ratios reached as high as 98.3% (BusinessNext, 2010). This majority of this age group studies in high school, and regardless of their course of study, interpersonal relationships, or physical and mental development, this age cohort has an inseparable connection to the Internet. Therefore, we call them the ¡§e-generation¡¨. This research utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as its theoretical foundation; TAM predicts that a high-school student¡¦s loneliness will affect that student¡¦s use of virtual community websites. This study utilizes stratified sampling in questionnaire among 500 Kaohsiung high school students from the ages of 15 to 19, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version Three (Russell, 1996) is used in the survey to measure loneliness. Using this methodology, the hope is to confirm the hypothesis that the students¡¦ loneliness is positively linked to their participation in virtual communities. Using SPSS 15.0 for Windows and Amos 7.0 to analyze the survey data and conduct a path analysis for a casual relationship, loneliness has a strong influence on students¡¦ use of virtual community websites, which supports TAM as a theoretical construct. And aims at the different social group type website to implement the AMOS female community the coalition analysis. The data do not show a particular variance in usage among different types of virtual community websites. The implications of this research are helpful to the families, the military, and the managers of virtual community websites, who all benefit from a better understanding of high-school students participation in virtual communities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among adolescents¡¦ online misrepresentation, self-disclosure, cyber-relationship motivation and loneliness. Survey study was conducted on sample consisted of 612 Taiwanese adolescents, 13-18 years of age with instruments including scales of online misrepresentation, self-disclosure, cyber-relationship motivation and of loneliness. Findings indicated that 45.9% of the respondents admit to having online deception experience while 4.4% report prevalent online misrepresentation, with those who live in Pintung, study in specific grade orwith exposure to cyber-relationship having much more online misrepresentation. In addition, not all constructs of self-disclosure, cyber-relationship motivation and loneliness are associated with online misrepresentation. Only accuracy and valence of self-disclosure, easier communication, emotional support, away from the real world and sexual partners of cyber-relationship motivation and loneliness are associated with specific constructs of online misrepresentation. Regression analyses suggested all constructs of self-disclosure in real-life as well as anonymity and emotional support of cyber-relationship motivation have moderate explanatory power for online self-disclosure, whereas accuracy and valence of self-disclosure in real-life as well as depth of control and accuracy of online self-disclosure have low explanatory power for cyber-relationship motivation, indicating that there are factors needed to be explored.

No description available.

Thesis (D. Phil.(Psychotherapy)--University of Pretoria, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.W.). / Written for the School of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references.