Perceived causes of loneliness: A cross-cultural comparison

Loneliness is a pervasive social problem which is experienced universally, regardless of one’s race, gender, age, or cultural background. In this study the influences of cultural background on the perceptions of loneliness antecedents were examined. Respondents including 711 Canadians, 568 Turks, and 398 Argentineans answered an 82-item questionnaire composed of 5 subscales, namely: personal inadequacies, developmental deficits, unfulfilling intimate relationships, relocation/significant separation, and social marginality. Participants were asked to endorse those items which, in their opinion, constituted the causes of their loneliness. Results revealed significant differences among the 3 cultures. Canadians gained  the  highest  mean  scores  on  all  subscales,  while  the  Turkish participants gained the lowest mean scores for personal in-adequacies and developmental  deficits.  Gender differences were also examined within, and between, cultures.