Title | Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2010 |
Authors | Hawkley, LC, Cacioppo, JT |
Journal | Ann Behav Med |
Volume | 40 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 218-27 |
Date Published | 2010 Oct |
ISSN Number | 1532-4796 |
Keywords | Cognition, Gene Expression, Health Status, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Immune System, Loneliness, Mental Health, Mortality, Pituitary-Adrenal System |
Abstract | As a social species, humans rely on a safe, secure social surround to survive and thrive. Perceptions of social isolation, or loneliness, increase vigilance for threat and heighten feelings of vulnerability while also raising the desire to reconnect. Implicit hypervigilance for social threat alters psychological processes that influence physiological functioning, diminish sleep quality, and increase morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this paper is to review the features and consequences of loneliness within a comprehensive theoretical framework that informs interventions to reduce loneliness. We review physical and mental health consequences of loneliness, mechanisms for its effects, and effectiveness of extant interventions. Features of a loneliness regulatory loop are employed to explain cognitive, behavioral, and physiological consequences of loneliness and to discuss interventions to reduce loneliness. Loneliness is not simply being alone. Interventions to reduce loneliness and its health consequences may need to take into account its attentional, confirmatory, and memorial biases as well as its social and behavioral effects. |
DOI | 10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8 |
User Guide Notes | |
Endnote Keywords | Psychology |
Endnote ID | 25500 |
Alternate Journal | Ann Behav Med |
Citation Key | 7538 |
PubMed ID | 20652462 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC3874845 |
Grant List | R01-AG034052 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States Z99 RG999999 / ImNIH / Intramural NIH HHS / United States R01 AG034052 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States R01 AG036433 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States R01-AG036433-01 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States |