A new meta-analysis from psychology experts found a gradual rise in loneliness in emerging adults throughout the last 43 years. The results were gathered from 345 separate papers that focus on loneliness and its psychological aspects.
Between 1976 and 2019, there has been a surge of loneliness recorded from the emerging adult population. According to the study, the levels of being lonely were also found to increase as the years progressed.
Lonely Emerging Adults Increasing
Loneliness is considered a negative emotion that manifests in individuals whenever they experience several discrepancies between the materials desired. In addition, loneliness could also show up when trouble arises in social relationships. Many studies have shown that for people who belong in the 'emerging adulthood.' which is under the age group of 18 to 29, loneliness increases up to its peak.
During the phase of emerging adulthood, there are many challenges and series of changes that occur in life or a person. This is when the age group is learning to form intimate relations, secure identities, and bonding friendships. With that said, failure to establish goals frequently leads to disappointment and loneliness.
Loneliness impacts a person, including negative coping behaviors and mental health issues. Because of loneliness, many emerging adults find themselves incompetent, losing their self-reliance and confidence. This leads to them missing opportunities and affecting other personal relationships.
Throughout the history of psychological studies, whether loneliness is epidemic or not remains unsolved. Previous examinations are also divided regarding the increase and decrease of loneliness in people.
Meta-Analysis of Studies Focusing on Loneliness in Emerging Adults
To settle the data, psychology expert Susanne Buecker and colleagues have recently processed a meta-analysis from a compilation of papers revolving around loneliness. The study's goal is to investigate the trend of the specified emotion in hundreds of subjects over the last 43 years of psychological research.
According to a report by PsyPost, 449 means from 345 studies were analyzed in the new research, allowing the scholars to detail each of the cases that the previous investigations have focused on. The authors extracted 437 independent samples out of over 124,000 participants that belong to emerging adults aged 18 to 29.
The samples included a mixture of students and non-attending individuals from various countries. The information compiled by the experts was collected between the years 1976 to 2019.
The UCLA Loneliness Scale was utilized in each of the papers examined. The measurement system includes a questionnaire that requires information regarding a person's general perception of social life. The Loneliness Scale was revised throughout various studies since it was first launched in the 1970s. Because of this, the metanalysis included all of the versions of the scale to minimize the difference in the results and point out the variations transparently.
The results showed a rising trend of emerging adults who experience loneliness. The trend was observed through the years specified. Due to the acceleration of modern-day technologies, previous studies have conducted a series of studies in 2012, a year they theorized to have 'gained market saturation.'
The American samples were not significantly different from those extracted from Europe and Asia. In addition, there were no hints of difference between the students' samples compared to non-attending people. It was also found that the trend is slightly stronger in women samples.
In conclusion, the authors said that the loneliness trend could have been induced by cohort effects, best-known as 'generation effects,' but when compared with the period effects, it was found that there is indeed an unknown factor that changed emerging adults globally.
The experts said that more studies are required to identify each contributing and maintaining factor of loneliness. The meta-analysis was published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, titled "Is loneliness in emerging adults increasing over time? A preregistered cross-temporal meta-analysis and systematic review."
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