The Effects of Culture on the Meaning of Loneliness

The present study examined the influence of culturalbackground on the experience of loneliness. Threehundred and seventy five participants from NorthAmerica and 375 from Croatia volunteered to answer an82 item questionnaire which examined the quality oftheir loneliness experiences. The factors whichcomprise the experience of loneliness are Emotionaldistress, Social inadequacy and alienation, Growth anddiscovery, Interpersonal isolation, andSelf-alienation. Results indicated that culturalbackground, indeed, affects the experience ofloneliness. North Americans scored higher on all fivefactors, and a similar trend was evident when men andwomen were compared across cultures.