Earlier studies on gender differences in loneliness appear to have produced contradictory results. However, when 39 existing data sets were classified according to whether they used the UCLA scale (N = 28) or a self-labeling measure (N = II) of loneliness, the results revealed a clear pattern. Statistically significant sex differences are not usually found with the UCLA scale, but, when they are found, males typically have higher loneliness scores. In terms of self-labeling, women more frequently than men admit being lonely. Sex role factors may help explain these seemingly contradictory results. Of the various possible explanations of the gender differences in self-labeled loneliness, most assume that social influence processes play a crucial role. To test this viewpoint, an experiment was conducted. Subjects (N = 117) were presented with a case history of a lonely person, which varied only the target person's sex. The subjects were more rejecting of a lonely male than of a lonely female. These results support the view that women are more apt to acknowledge their loneliness than men because the negative consequences of admitting loneliness are less for women.

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Several childhood factors are reported to be associated with a homosexual orientation in men, including gender nonconformity and rejection by parents and peers. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between these childhood factors and attachment anxiety (the tendency to experience anxiety regarding potential loss and rejection in close relationships) and attachment avoidance (the tendency to avoid versus seek out closeness in relationships) in gay and bisexual men. A community sample of 191 gay and bisexual men completed questionnaires and an attachment interview. Gender nonconformity was significantly associated with paternal, maternal, and peer rejection in childhood. In addition, paternal and peer rejection, but not maternal rejection, independently predicted attachment anxiety. Peer rejection and, to a lesser extent, paternal rejection mediated the association between gender nonconformity and attachment anxiety. Finally, peer rejection mediated the association between paternal rejection and attachment avoidance. Findings highlight the role of gender nonconformity in contributing to childhood rejection and the importance of peer relationships in the socialization of gay men.

This article provides a commentary on a set of five other articles reporting European and Canadian studies of loneliness among seniors. It places those works involving Canadian, Dutch, Finnish, and Welsh samples in the larger context of research on loneliness; offers reflections on the methods and findings reported in the articles; and addresses the question, Is loneliness universal? Points of similarity in the articles are identified and possible ways of reconciling discrepant findings regarding age trends and gender differences are put forward. A discrepancy model of loneliness is used as a key framework for explaining several points, including why objective social isolation and loneliness don't always go together.

Recent research on intergenerational faith transfer has argued that (a) parents have a direct effect on the adolescence acquisition of religiosity and (b) parental effects are mediated through congregation and peers. This study tests the channeling hypothesis, which argues that parental influences are mediated through both peer selection and congregation selection. It examines both direct and indirect effects that parental influence has on the religiosity of offspring. A national survey of 11,000 adolescents and adults in six Protestant denominations produced a subsample of 2,379 youth. Contrary to the channeling hypothesis, the research showed that peer influence and parental influence remained stable during the adolescent years. Parental influence did not dramatically increase or decrease with age. Some findings support the channeling hypothesis, particularly the mediating effect of parents through peer influences. The findings of this study are discussed in light of the contradictory findings from other studies.

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This experiment examined the communication skills of 66 female undergraduates who were either chronically lonely, situationally lonely, or not lonely. "Sender" subjects were videotaped while they watched and rated the pleasantness of 25 slides. These videotapes were then shown to "receiver" subjects who made judgments about the sender subjects' reactions to each slide. The results indicated that the situationally lonely subjects were more successful as communication senders than were the chronically lonely or nonlonely subjects. This finding was interpreted within a cognitive framework as reflecting the increased motivation created by attributing one's situational loneliness to unstable causes. Beck depression scores were also obtained. In general, highly depressed subjects were less successful as communication senders, but this relation did not hold for the situationally lonely group.Loneliness reflects a deficiency in one's social relationships that is almost always accompanied by a gnawing sense of discomfort. As a phenomenon, it is widespread. We believe that loneliness experiences can profitably be divided into two classes: those which are chronic versus those which are temporary or situationally induced.In writing on this topic, psychologists have advanced widely discrepant views of the motivational consequences of loneliness. On the one hand, Sullivan (1953) considered loneliness to be arousing, a "driving force." On the other hand, Fromm-Reichmann (1959) and others have argued that lonely people are apathetic, passive, and depressed.Peplau and Perlman ( 1979) offered an attributionally based view of loneliness that suggests a resolution of this controversy. Assume that situationally lonely people commonly attribute their feelings to unstable causes, whereas chronically lonely people commonly attribute their condition to inter-