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COVID-19 is a frightening, stress-inducing, and unchartered territory for all. It is suggested that stress, loneliness, and the emotional toll of the pandemic will result in increased numbers of those who will seek psychological intervention, need support, and guidance on how to cope with a time period that none of us were prepared for. Psychologists, in general, are trained in and know how to help others. They are less effective in taking care of themselves, so that they can be their best in helping others. The article, which aims to heighten clinicians' awareness of the need for self-care, especially now in the post-pandemic era, describes the demanding nature of psychotherapy and the initial resistance by therapists to engage in self-care, and outlines the consequences of neglecting to care for themselves. We covered the demanding nature of psychotherapy and its grinding trajectory, the loneliness and isolation felt by clinicians in private practice, the professional hazards faced by those caring for others, and the creative and insightful ways that mental health practitioners can care for themselves for the good of their clients, their families, and obviously, themselves.

In order to become a full-fledged psychologist, one must undertake a long, demanding, and quite difficult journey in academia. The academic journey holds a promise of delivering knowledge, interesting theories, and strategies on helping those who need psychological assessment and/or treatment. However, the constant expectation of keeping up with the material, of succeeding in tests and exams, and of preparing to proceed to the next educational level can be daunting and exhausting. In line with the topic of this special issue, this paper addresses factors contributing to academic success at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels of psychology. Utilizing the available literature on the Big Five personality classification scheme, high conscientiousness was found to be the most consistent predictor of success, although curiously, this relationship was only found to be reliable at the undergraduate level. Less robust findings included high agreeableness and low neuroticism as predictors of general academic success in all tertiary levels of education. The importance of mentorship figures in psychology, and a highlight of its lack of widespread implementation at the undergraduate level, are also addressed. Additionally, we discuss the negative implications of the impostor phenomenon and of loneliness, which students at all levels may experience as common barriers to scholastic success in psychology. Following a discussion of each factor as outlined above, there is a brief literature review regarding ways that its constraining effects may be limited or its positive effects possibly enhanced.

The present study examined the experience of loneliness and the ways of coping with its pain as utilized by people with chronic pain and caregivers. Specifically, a large sample (N = 827) recruited in two major pain clinics in Israel, completed the Loneliness and the Coping with loneliness questionnaires. Results indicated that patients had higher scores than caregivers in Emotional distress, Social inadequacy and alienation, Interpersonal isolation, and in Self-alienation. There was no significant difference between the groups in the Growth and discovery subscale. Comparing patients and caregivers on coping with loneliness, patients had higher scores than caregivers in Reflection and acceptance, and in Self-development and understanding. No significant difference between the groups was found in Social support, Distancing and denial, Religion and faith, and on Increased activity.

I started teaching undergraduate and graduate psychology students more than three decades ago. Already during my own academic journey, studying and aiming to gain acceptance to a program in a more ...

As “baby boomers” we grew up in the 1950s when we believed that the cold war was most threatening of world order and a frightening possibility. It was difficult to believe, then, that it could get ...

“Individuals who are satisfied with their lives and who experience frequent positive emotions – that is, individuals with high levels of subjective well-being … – not only feel good, but may also h...

In this paper we review the concept of loneliness, and research that relates it to illness and death, two conditions that we all will undergo at some point in our life, and which are replete with loneliness, a sense of isolation, and a deep yearning not only for health and life, but for a meaningful connection with loved ones and carers.

This article explores the experience of loneliness in intimacy, with a special focus on infidelity. First, the notion of intimacy and love are examined and related to the concept of loneliness. To be in love is often thought to exclude being lonely but research shows otherwise.’ Loneliness is exacerbated when intimacy is shattered by interpersonal events like infidelity. A review of recent literature regarding infidelity is presented. The concepts of depression, social support, self-esteem, and betrayal as a result of infidelity are examined and linked to loneliness. Also included, is a small discussion regarding the psychological distress and loneliness of the adulterer, before and after the revelation of infidelity. It is further asserted that loneliness is a two-way construct when speaking of infidelity; not only is it a salient product of infidelity, but also a strong predictor of its occurrence.

In this epilogue I review some of the existing literature on senseless violence, highlighting the phenomenon, examining the factors that cause people to commit such horrific deeds, and the complex thoughts, feelings, and acts that precede such senseless violence. The article ends with some reflections on what we should do as a profession and as a society to help curb this life shattering violence.

The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevi...

This study examined the perceived causes of loneliness of pregnant women and mothers during the first year after childbirth experience. These were compared with the causes of loneliness of women in the general population. 91 pregnant women, 97 women during the first year following childbirth, and 208 women from the general population ( M age = 30.4, SD=10.4) answered a 29-item Loneliness Antecedents Questionnaire. In the questionnaire were 5 dimensions of sources of loneliness, namely, Personal Inadequacies, Developmental Deficits, Unfulfilling Intimate Relationships, Relocation/Significant Separation, and Social Marginality. Sources of loneliness were significantly different amongst the three groups. The differences were confined to the Personal Inadequacies, and the Relocation/Significant Separation subscales. In both, women from the general population had the highest mean subscale scores.

The present study is an examination of the influence of cultural background on the ways in which the aged cope with loneliness. Thirty-six participants from Canada and 105 from Portugal (60-83 years old) answered an 86-item questionnaire which examined the beneficial strategies which they used to cope with loneliness. The strategies which were examined included Acceptance and Reflection, Self-Development and Understanding, Social Support Network, Distancing and Denial, Religion and Faith, and Increased Activity. Results indicated that the elderly of the two cultures differ on three subscales. Gender differences between and within cultures were also examined.

The concept of a spectrum of posttraumatic disorders has been postulated by a variety of major contributors to the field of psychotraumatology. Although Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one trauma-based mental health disorder, there are other posttraumatic illnesses that do not qualify for PTSD, nor are they accurately described by other diagnostic categories in the DSM-IV. The present paper proposes and delineates a new syndrome, entitled Posttraumatic Relationship Syndrome (PTRS), which is a function of the experience of trauma in the context of an emotionally intimate relationship. It differs from PTSD in four fundamental ways: (1) the nature of the Stressor criterion; (2) the response to the Stressor; (3) the inclusion of a category of relational symptoms; and (4) the way of coping with the trauma (i.e., it lacks the emotional numbing and avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma). The latter is the most salient difference as it involves a qualitatively different experience of the “world of trauma”-a primarily conscious experience in PTRS and an often unconscious experience in PTSD.

Loneliness, social isolation, and emotional alienation have become an all-too-common way of life to millions of North Americans; to those who succumb to it and become immobilized, to those who are in the midst of their life's race and do not want to admit it, and to many of those who seek psychological intervention for problems which are seemingly unrelated to loneliness. Being so fundamental to human experience, loneliness merits a closer look and examination of its effects on daily living and its relation to time and space. The present paper describes the various facets of loneliness and looks at man's search for refuge from its devastating pain—a search that is as old as the history of man, and which transcends geographical, cultural, and religious boundaries.

Loneliness is a prevailing experience particularly familiar to adolescents and young adults. It is a subjective experience, influenced by one's personality, life experiences, and situational variables. The present study examined the influence of drug cessation on the experience of loneliness. Drug abusers during their stay in detox centers were compared to drug abusers who were in a methadone maintenance program, and those two groups were again compared to a group of adults in the general population who are nonusers of drugs. A total of 304 participants from all three groups volunteered to answer a 30-item yes/no questionnaire, reflecting on their experience of loneliness and what it meant to them. The factors which compose the multidimensional loneliness experience are emotional distress, social inadequacy and alienation, growth and discovery, interpersonal isolation, and self-alienation. Results revealed significant differences between the scores of the three groups, however only the detox and the general population samples had significantly different subscale scores.

The present study examined the influence of cultural background on the causes of adolescents' loneliness. Eighty Canadian youth and 168 adolescents from the Czech Republic formed the participants pool. They answered a thirty-item yes/ no questionnaire. The questionnaire is composed of five subscales, namely: Personal Inadequacies, Developmental Deficits, Unfulfilling Intimate Relationships, Relocation/Significant Separations, and Social Marginality. Results revealed a mixed pattern of differences between the two cultures. Canadian youth had lower mean scores on Personal Inadequacies and Developmental Deficits, but scored higher on Social Marginality. Gender differences within and between the cultures were also examined. Both genders in the Czech Republic had higher mean scores than their Canadian counterparts.

The present study examined the influence of cultural background on the causes of loneliness. A total of 639 participants from North America and 454 from Spain volunteered to answer an 82-item questionnaire examining the causes of their loneliness. The factors that comprise the causes of loneliness are Personal inadequacies, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation/Significant separations, and Social marginality. Results indicated that cultural background indeed affects the causes of loneliness. North Americans scored higher on all five factors, and a similar trend was evident when men and women were compared across cultures.

This study is an examination of the influences of incarceration on perceived causes of loneliness. A heterogeneous prison population was divided into five homogeneous subgroups (sex offenders, violent offenders, property offenders, drug-related offenders, and a category that contained all other miscellaneous offenders) whose loneliness experiences were then compared. Three hundred fifty-six incarcerated male offenders and 501 men from the general population were recruited on a voluntary basis. They reported the perceived sources of their loneliness on an 82-item yes/no questionnaire. Results indicated significant differences in perceived causes of loneliness between the criminal and general populations and within the criminal sample when the data were examined according to offense type.

There is a great diversity in the available strategies for coping with loneliness. The present study examined the influence of age and gender on coping with loneliness. Seven hundred and eleven participants from all walks of life volunteered to answer an 86 item yes/no questionnaire, reflecting on the beneficial coping strategies, which they have used to deal with the pain of loneliness. Four age groups were compared: youth (13–18 years old), young adults (19–30 years old), adults (31–58 years old) and seniors (60–80 years old). Within and between gender comparisons were also done. Results revealed that loneliness is approached and dealt with more effectively by the adult group, and that women appear to cope better than men do with loneliness.

The present study examined the influence of cultural background on coping with loneliness. 711 participants from Canada, 568 from Turkey, and 389 from Argentina answered an 86-item questionnaire examining the beneficial strategies they used to cope with loneliness. Those strategies included acceptance and reflection, self-development and understanding, social support network, distancing and denial, religion and faith, and increased activity. Results indicated that cultural background affects the strategies one uses to cope with loneliness. North Americans had the highest mean scores on all six subscales, while Argentinians had the lowest scores on five out of the six subscales.

The pain of loneliness is a universal social phenomenon, which is intensified by a diagnosis of a terminal illness. The present study investigated the causes of loneliness as perceived by HIV/AIDS patients, those diagnosed with cancer, and the general population. Forty-three HIV/AIDS patients, 38 cancer patients, and 53 participants from the general population answered a 29 item questionnaire. Results indicated that with the exception of social marginality, those afflicted with HIV/AIDS perceived the causes of their loneliness to be significantly different from those of the other two samples. Secondly, cancer patients and subjects from the general population did not differ significantly in the perceived causes of their loneliness.

Snell [1] reviews the history of loneliness, since he maintains that despite the well-established research on this topic in psychology, sociology, and across a range of modern welfare disciplines, and despite the modern public, political and media concern about an ‘epidemic’ or ‘time bomb’ of loneliness, historians have been slow to explore the historical aspects of the problem. Snell undertakes to do it, and examines loneliness in literature, philosophy, psychology, in light of societal changes, and cultural dictates.

In the present study the various strategies used by individuals who have successfully coped with loneliness are identified. A questionnaire containing 86 yes-no items outlining various coping strategies was completed by 633 individuals selected from a local college and university and from the general population. A subsequent factor analysis of the data yielded six factors: Reflection and Acceptance, Self-Development and Understanding, Social Support Network, Distancing and Denial, Religion and Faith, and Increased Activity. Phase 2 of the study included an examination of whether the salience of these factors differed according to gender, marital status, and the duration of loneliness, and whether the passing of time altered the participants' understanding of the causes of loneliness.

Loneliness is a universal experience which transcends age, sex, geography, and culture. Religion, and often one's religiosity, are known to affect one's approach to life, behaviour, and social involvement. The present, preliminary study aimed to explore whether coping with loneliness is influenced by one's religious observance. The present study focused on Israeli Jews. 250 participants identified themselves as Secular, Conservative, or Orthodox, by answering a 34-item yes/no questionnaire on loneliness. The three groups statistically significantly differed in their manner of coping with loneliness only on the Religion and Faith subscale, as hypothesized. Similar studies with people of other religious denominations could further highlight that issue.

Both homelessness and loneliness are pervasive in North America. In this study, the author compared the causes of the loneliness experienced by young homeless youth (n = 113) with that of counterparts in the general population (n = 211) who answered a 30-item yes-no questionnaire. The results identified 5 causes of loneliness: personal inadequacy, developmental deficits, unfulfilling intimate relationships, relocation or significant separations, and social marginality. The results indicated that the causes of loneliness in young homeless youth are significantly different from those of the general population.

Loneliness is a universal social phenomenon often producing debilitating effects on many aspects of human functioning. The present study compared the qualitative aspects of loneliness in two terminally ill samples to that of a more healthy sample. 329 multiple sclerosis and 315 cancer patients, as well as 391 nonrandom healthy participants answered a 30-item questionnaire on loneliness. Analysis indicated the experience of loneliness which characterizes multiple sclerosis and cancer patients differs from that of the more healthy group.

Loneliness is a subjective experience that is influenced by such variables as personality, life experiences, and situation. In the present study, the author examined the connection between the use of ecstasy (MDMA) and the antecedents of loneliness. MDMA users were compared with non-MDMA drug users and with a group of young adults in the general population who did not use drugs. A total of 818 participants from all 3 groups volunteered to answer a 30-item yes-no questionnaire reflecting on their experiences of loneliness and what caused them. Results showed that the predominant causes of loneliness were personal inadequacies, developmental deficits, unfulfilling intimate relationships, relocation or significant separations, and social marginality. There were significant differences between the scores of the MDMA users and scores of the other groups. Gender differences between and within groups were also examined.

Loneliness is a universal phenomenon, and its pain is intensified by a diagnosis of a terminal illness. The present study is an investigation of the coping strategies used by HIV/AIDS patients, by individuals diagnosed with cancer, and by the general population. Forty-three HIV/AIDS patients, 38 cancer patients, and 53 participants from the general population answered a 34-item questionnaire. Results indicated that with the exception of reflection and acceptance and religion and faith, those afflicted with HIV/AIDS cope with loneliness significantly differently from members of the other two groups. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that cancer patients and the general population do not differ in the ways they cope with loneliness.

Loneliness is a prevailing experience which every person has experienced. This subjective experience is influenced by one's personality and situational variables. In the present study, the influence of age and sex on the experience of loneliness were examined. 711 participants volunteered to answer an 82-item yes/no questionnaire on their loneliness experience and its meaning. Four age groups were compared: 106 youths (13–18 years old), 255 young adults (19–30 years old), 314 adults (31–58 years old), and 36 seniors (60–80 years old). Within and between sex comparisons indicated that loneliness is indeed affected by one's age and sex.

The present study is an examination of the influence of cultural background on an individual's ability to cope with loneliness. Participants were from 3 cultural backgrounds: North American, South Asian, and West Indian. A total of 679 participants (318 men and 361 women) answered an 18-item loneliness questionnaire. Results revealed significant differences in the coping strategies that the participants used. Gender differences were also found across the cultures and within each culture.

The present study examined the influence of incarceration on sources of loneliness. It was hypothesized that incarcerated offenders would perceive the causes of their loneliness differently than a general population sample. 145 male offenders and 112 men from the general population who were recruited on a voluntary basis, reported the sources of their loneliness on a 15-item (yes/no) questionnaire. Analysis indicated a significant difference in the perceived sources of loneliness amongst the two populations. Also duration of loneliness, i.e., chronic vs episodic, was associated with perception of its causes.

Previous research yielded five factors which comprise the experience of loneliness, namely, Emotional distress, Social inadequacy and alienation, Growth and discovery, Interpersonal isolation, and Self-alienation. The perceived causes of loneliness were grouped into factors of Personal inadequacies, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation and significant separations, and Social marginality. Using principal components factor analysis, the relations of perceived causes and the various aspects of loneliness were examined for 295 men and 338 women. All five of the perceived causes appeared to contribute to experienced loneliness. While scores on Emotional distress were strongly related to all five factors of perceived causes, the other four factors were differentially related.

In this study, factor analysis was used to examine whether men and women experience loneliness differently and how marital status affects the experience of loneliness (especially if the marriage is terminated). The experiences of chronic and situational or event-related loneliness are also compared. Finally, the study is also an investigation of the social stigma that causes people to refuse to admit their loneliness. As a result of this stigma, when questioned for research purposes, individuals usually report a recall of past loneliness rather than a current or ongoing experience. In the present study, the difference between loneliness recalled and loneliness experienced at the time of questioning is investigated.

Previous research, upon which the present study is based, identified five clearly distinguished factors which comprise the loneliness experience: Emotional distress, Social inadequacy and alienation, Growth and discovery, Interpersonal isolation, and Self-alienation. Further research indicated that the various coping strategies could be grouped into six factors, namely, Reflection and acceptance, Self-development and understanding, Social support network, Distancing and denial, Religion and faith, and Increased activity. The present study examined which were the most beneficial coping strategies, depending on the qualitative experience of lonely persons. The following coping strategies were identified as best suited to cope with and reduce the pain of loneliness, Acceptance and reflection, Social interaction, and Increased activity. Distancing from loneliness and attempts to ignore and deny it are the least effective and can, at best, be helpful on a temporary basis only.

Content analysis of the sexual fantasies of 87 community college and university students revealed no significant sex differences in the content of sexual fantasies. Both men and women preferred traditional and facilitative fantasies. Because this study was explorative, however, further research is required to validate the suggested scale and replicate these results.

Content analysis of 526 verbatim reports of loneliness revealed both helpful and nonhelpful coping strategies. The helpful strategies were grouped into three clusters that represent three distinct phases of the coping process. Eleven factors were subsumed under the three clusters. Four additional factors comprised the cluster of destructive and nonbeneficial coping strategies. The present study highlights the complexity and variety of coping strategies as well as the frequency with which they are used and their utility in helping people to survive loneliness and alienation.

A descriptive framework for the content analysis of sexual fantasies was developed by examination of the verbatim reports of fantasies from male and female incarcerated criminals. Twenty-two themes, subsumed under five major categories of sexual fantasies, were identified. Application of the scale to fantasies elicited from 73 offenders revealed that quantity of sexual fantasies produced was not affected by gender, but male criminals produced qualitatively different fantasies from female criminals.

Based on the content analysis of verbatim reports of loneliness accounts provided by 526 subjects, I developed a three-level model of the experience of loneliness. Ten factors are subsumed under four major elements and are differentiated into 23 components. In addition to demonstrating the complexity of loneliness, the present study also highlights the sources of the subjective experience and the varied accounts reported by so many writers. This model may be useful in designing therapeutic intervention procedures according to individual needs of the lonely and in examining the various conditions that give rise to the different experiences of loneliness that people report.

Based on the content analysis of verbatim reports of loneliness experiences provided by 526 subjects, I developed a model of the antecedents of loneliness. Eight factors are subsumed under three clusters and are differentiated into 20 components. In addition to highlighting the sources of the subjective experience, the present study demonstrates the complexity of the loneliness phenomenon. The suggested model is helpful in examining the various conditions that give rise to the different experiences that people report and may be useful in designing therapeutic intervention procedures according to the individual needs of the lonely.