Loneliness Can Be Contagious: A New Study

Individuals and society are now more transparent, more honest about problems of loneliness. It is a problem in itself, but is often associated with depression and anxiety, as well. And it's not just the elderly, or those many others who for various reasons live alone. It's more complicated than that. People can feel alone or lonely even when physically, regularly around other people. Part of it reflects the level of connectedness, affirmation, and the substance or expectations of relationships. Part of it--or the results of it--may be related to the personality and temperament of the individual. But I had not heard of the phenomenon of contagious loneliness. Now comes a study confirming that just such a phenomenon exists. From msnbc.com:

We're used to hearing about people spreading colds and flu. But according to a new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, there's another human condition that's equally contagious: loneliness. "Loneliness spreads across time," says John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of Chicago and one of the authors of the study. "It travels through people. Instead of a germ, it's transmitted through our behaviors."

The longitudinal study, conducted by the University of Chicago, the University of California-San Diego and Harvard, interviewed more than 5,000 people over the course of 10 years, tracking their friendship histories and their reports of loneliness...In the study, researchers found that lonely individuals tend to move to the fringes of social networks (and, no, we're not talking about Facebook or Twitter here), where they have fewer and fewer friends. But before they move to the periphery, they "infect" or "transmit" their feelings of loneliness to their remaining friends. With fewer close relationships, these friends then become lonely and eventually move to the fringes of the social network, again passing their loneliness on to others. Thus, the cycle continues.

--"Loneliness can be contageous," by Diane Mapes, msnbc.com (12.1.09)

The article then broadens the scope of it's topic by exploring the source, nature and results of loneliness. From Professor Cacioppo:

"When people get lonely, they're more likely to interact negatively with others they encounter," says Cacioppo. Ironically, loneliness can not only make you feel more socially isolated, it can make you more anxious, more shy and cause you to believe you have poor social skills. Cacioppo says previous research also shows that loneliness can make people less trustful of others and can make the brain more "defensive." "Your brain tells you people are rejecting you," he says. "Loneliness may warp the message that you're hearing." While loneliness can be "contagious," Cacioppo says it's important to note it's not a disease, nor is it a personal weakness. It's actually a biological reaction, much like hunger or thirst or pain.

"Society tends to think of it as an individual characteristic — there are just loners," he says. "But that's the wrong conception of what loneliness is. It's a biological signal motivating us to correct something that we need for genetic survival. We need quality relationships. We don't survive well on our own." Studies, in fact, show loneliness can actually be harmful to both mental and physical health, leading to depression, high blood pressure, increases in the stress hormone cortisol, and compromised immunity. Unfortunately, quality friendships can sometimes be difficult to find or maintain in our busy, BlackBerried society.

But if individuals are not predisposed to loneliness, other research makes clear that some are genetically predisposed to depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and other problems also brought on or exacerbated by loneliness. For those so predisposed, loneliness is clearly a more threatening circumstance.

And to complete its treatment of the general topic, the msnbc.com article also explores professional advice on some ways to deal with loneliness. From the article:

Stephanie Smith, a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Erie, Co., says she tries to encourage her lonely patients — which can range from college students to stay-at-home moms to high-powered CEOs — to find at least one friend in their same situation. But you don't have to have a slew of BFFs. "Sometimes people get overwhelmed and think 'I need to have 15 best friends,'" she says. "But it doesn't need to be that big. One friend, one relationship, can be very powerful."

Facebook and Twitter are no substitute for the real thing, though. "If you're isolated due to a disability or a spouse with Alzheimer's, then Facebook can be a real boon," says Cacioppo. "But if you're spending your time on Facebook rather than face-to-face with friends, it increases your loneliness. It's about quality. Lonely people use social networks as a substitute; non-lonely people use them to synergize the relationships they already have."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34209727/ns/health-behavior/