Stigmatization of Transitions in Loneliness

Abstract

A total of 204 college students judged hypothetical peers that represented two types of Current Loneliness (Lonely vs Non-lonely) x two types of Transition in Loneliness (No-transition vs Transition). In the transition condition, the peers were shown as changing over the course of leaving home and attending college, from being lonely to non-lonely or from being non-lonely to lonely. Results showed that the students ascribed psychosocial functioning to the peers in the following order, from lowest to highest: no-transition lonely, transition lonely, transition non-lonely and no-transition nonlonely. Also, students reported less acceptance of the lonely than non-lonely peers and of the transition than no-transition peers, primarily for the non-lonely peer. Consistent with Weiner et al.'s (1988) causal analysis of stigmas, the more the college students believed that the loneliness and behavior of the transition lonely peer were not controllable by him or her, the more the students accepted the peer. Suggestions for future research included the investigation of the stigmatization of various transitions to loneliness, such as divorce or death of a spouse.