Experiences of discrimination and the feelings of loneliness in people with psychotic disorders: The mediating effects of self-esteem and support seeking

Integrative review of older adult loneliness and social isolation in Aotearoa/New Zealand

“…Furthermore, the results of this review indicate the importance of differentiating loneliness and its effects for diverse subgroups in Aotearoa/New Zealand society. The older Korean immigrants’ qualitative accounts of loneliness and barriers to social inclusion align with the international literature on loneliness associated with discrimination and a sense of not belonging 21.…”

“…For example, there is a significant correlation between cultural experiences of not belonging, and of being discriminated against, and loneliness 20, 21. Hence, the demography of the country's older and increasingly ethnically diverse population indicates the importance of understanding what is known about older adults and loneliness in Aotearoa/New Zealand, including how loneliness is experienced by disparate peoples.…”

Investigating the roles of loneliness and clinician- and self-rated depressive symptoms in predicting the subjective quality of life among people with psychosis

“…People with psychotic disorders have been consistently shown to experience more intense sense of loneliness than the general population or healthy control groups [ 4 – 7 ]. Existing studies have identified diverse clusters of factors that may contribute to this greater severity of loneliness in psychosis, including anhedonia and subjective thought disorder [ 5 ], positive symptoms [ 8 ], depression and poor self-reported social cognition [ 7 ], experiences of discrimination, diminished self-esteem and unwillingness to seek social support [ 9 ], internalized stigma, weak social support, restricted social network, poor interpersonal competence and a high number of psychiatric inpatient admissions [ 6 ], living arrangement (living in semi-independent and independent apartments as opposed to living in group homes) and low levels of social support and participation in the community [ 10 ], or low scores on measures of self-efficacy for community life, self-esteem, social network and community integration [ 11 ]. Despite these findings, there are also indications that people with psychotic disorders may find it difficult to report loneliness or to mention that this is a need to be met by mental health services, possibly because the experience of socialization is particularly stressful for them [ 12 ].…”

Common People : Physical health, lifestyle and quality of life in persons with psychosis and their striving to be like everybody else

“…If this is not the case, this discrimination may have devastating effects on the person's social relations, leading to feelings of loneliness and an undermined self-esteem. The low selfesteem will in turn reduce the ability to seek social support, which will further increase the sense of loneliness (Switaj et al 2015). …”