Loneliness coping strategies: Their perceived effectiveness and frequency of use

Abstract

Loneliness affects a sizable percentage of the U.S. adult population, and although interventions and therapy can address loneliness, it is not feasible for tens of millions of people experiencing loneliness to access these resources. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a typology of coping strategies that lonely individuals use to address loneliness and to categorize such strategies based on their perceived effectiveness or ineffectiveness. A nationally representative sample of 621 U.S. adults provided 2878 loneliness coping strategies they used, which allowed for inductively creating a set of 19 categories of loneliness coping strategies. Strategies ranged from the relational (e.g., forming new relationships), to the behavioral (e.g., healthy lifestyle changes), to the cognitive (e.g., self-reflection). Results showed that strategies vary in their perceived success rate and, as such, were categorized as being perceived as effective, mixed results, or ineffective. Likewise, strategies varied in their frequency of use and were also categorized as common, infrequent, or rare. Patterns emerged showing that certain strategies are generally perceived as more effective than others; however, even the strategies most consistently perceived as effective were viewed as ineffective by some and vice versa. We discuss our typology of strategies in terms of how they align with existing theories on loneliness, act as an update to previous research on the topic, and the ways in which our findings can generate future research directions. From a practical standpoint, documenting the many strategies used to combat loneliness provides lonely individuals with a variety of strategies they can implement to address their loneliness. Our primary recommendation is that lonely individuals should use several strategies simultaneously to address their loneliness and accept that the effectiveness of these strategies will likely depend on their personality, circumstances, and reason for their loneliness.