Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK.
Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Int J Psychol. 2024 Oct;59(5):690-700. doi: 10.1002/ijop.13133. Epub 2024 Apr 28.
Loneliness is linked to negative mental health outcomes like depression and social anxiety. However, it is unclear how loneliness and these conditions are connected. This study aims to address two questions: (a) Are there pathways connecting loneliness to these conditions? (b) What symptoms play a role in these pathways? Using network analyses, the study examined a representative sample of 962 adults from the UK (mean age = 46, females = 492). The network analysis revealed four dimensions: depression, social anxiety and two dimensions for loneliness (isolation and social connectedness). Two distinct pathways were identified for the transmission of symptoms between loneliness, social anxiety and depression. The depression-isolation pathway involved a node representing the perceived loss of social connections. The social anxiety-social connectedness pathway was characterised by intimate interaction contexts. These findings suggest that loneliness is associated with different symptom pathways, potentially contributing to comorbidity between loneliness, social anxiety and depression.
孤独与抑郁和社交焦虑等负面心理健康结果有关。然而，孤独感和这些情况是如何联系在一起的还不清楚。本研究旨在解决两个问题：（a）孤独感与这些情况之间是否存在途径？（b）哪些症状在这些途径中起作用？本研究使用网络分析，对来自英国的 962 名成年人（平均年龄为 46 岁，女性为 492 名）进行了代表性抽样。网络分析显示出四个维度：抑郁、社交焦虑和孤独感的两个维度（隔离和社会联系）。在孤独、社交焦虑和抑郁之间的症状传递中发现了两种不同的途径。抑郁-隔离途径涉及代表感知到的社会联系丧失的节点。社交焦虑-社会联系途径的特点是亲密的互动环境。这些发现表明，孤独感与不同的症状途径有关，这可能导致孤独、社交焦虑和抑郁之间的共病。
