Abstract
Literature highlights the impact of loneliness on mental and physical wellbeing. Nonetheless, the link between loneliness and the distinct domains of quality of life has only been slightly explored. Moreover, the relationship between early affiliative memories and current feelings of loneliness still need to be studied. The main goal of this study was to explore how early memories of warmth and safeness and physical, psychological and social quality of life (QoL) are related through the mediating influences of loneliness, by testing a novel model in a community-based sample of 509 adult participants of both sexes. Path analysis results suggested that the lack of early memories of warmth and safeness is associated with higher levels of loneliness, which in turn, is associated with decreased physical, psychological and social quality of life. This model accounted for 22%, 45% and 41% of the variance of physical, psychological and social quality of life, respectively. This study seems to suggest that loneliness is a defensive response that may have its roots in the absence of early emotional experiences of warmth and safeness, which may become a conditioned mental representation of self and others that greatly influences one’s perceptions of one’s physical, psychological and social quality of life. Findings seem to support the relevance of addressing the abilities of warmth, kindness and compassion to overcome loneliness, and subsequently to promote physical, psychological and social well-being.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of Data and Material
The datasets collected and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to the present research is part of a wider research, thus the data is still being used by the authors.
References
Aikin, A. (2010). Self-compassion and loneliness. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2(3), 702–718 ISSN: 1309-2707.
Azevedo, J., Castilho, P., & Palmeira, L. (2018). Early emotional memories and borderline symptoms: The mediating role of decentering. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 18(3), 345–356 https://www.ijpsy.com/volumen18/num3/500.html.
Baldwin, M. W., & Dandeneau, S. D. (2005). Understanding and modifying the relational schemas underlying insecurity. In M. W. Baldwin (Ed.), Interpersonal cognition (pp. 33–61). Guilford.
Barreto, M., Victor, C., Hammond, C., Eccles, A., Richins, M. T., & Qualter, P. (2020). Loneliness around the world: Age, gender, and cultural differences in loneliness. Personality and Individual Differences, 110066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110066.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497.
van Beljouw, J., van Exel, E., de Jong Gierveld, J., Comijs, H. C., Heerings, M., Stek, M. L., & van Marwijk, H. W. (2014). “Being all alone makes me sad”: Loneliness in older adults with depressive symptoms. International Psychogeriatrics, 9, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610214000581.
Bessaha, M. L., Sabbath, E. L., Morris, Z., Malik, S., Scheinfeld, L., & Saragossi, J. (2019). A systematic review of loneliness interventions among non-elderly adults. Clinical Social Work Journal, 48, 110–125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-019-00724-0.
Botros, M., Hodgins, G., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2019). The long-lasting neurobiological scars of early-life stress: Implications for the neurobiology of depression. Neurobiology of Depression, 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813333-0.00011-1.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss, vol 1: Attachment. Hogarth Press.
Cacioppo, J. T., & Cacioppo, S. (2018). The growing problem of loneliness. The Lancet, 391(10119), 426. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30142-9.
Cacioppo, J. T., Ernst, J. M., Burleson, M. H., McClintock, M. K., Malarkey, W. B., Hawkley, L. C., Kowalewski, R. B., Paulsen, A., Hobson, A., Hugdahl, K., Spiegel, D., & Berntson, G. G. (2000). Lonely traits and concomitant physiological processes: The MacArthur social neuroscience studies. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 35, 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8760(99)00049-5.
Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., Ernst, J. M., Burleson, M., Berntson, G. G., Nouriani, B., & Spiegel, D. (2006). Loneliness within a nomological net: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(6), 1054–1085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.11.007.
Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J. P., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2014). Toward a neurology of loneliness. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1464–1504. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037618.
Cacioppo, S., Grippo, A. J., London, S., Goossens, L., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2015). Loneliness: Clinical import and interventions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 238–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615570616.
Canavarro, M. C., Simões, M. R., Vaz Serra, A., Pereira, M., Rijo, D., Quartilho, M., Gameiro, S., Paredes, T., & Carona, C. (2007). WHOQOL-Bref Instrumento de Avaliação da Qualidade de Vida da Organização Mundial de Saúde. In M. R. Simões, M. M. Gonçalves & Almeida, L. S. (Coord.) Avaliação Psicológica: 46 Instrumentos válidos para a população portuguesa (Vol. III, pp. 77–100). Quarteto.
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S., & Aiken, L. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioural sciences (3th ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cozolino, L. (2007). The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing brain. Norton.
DeHart, T., Pelham, B. W., & Tennen, H. (2006). What lies beneath: Parenting style and implicit self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.12.005.
Depue, R. A., & Morrone-Strupinsky, J. V. (2005). A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding: Implications for conceptualizing a human trait of affiliation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 313–395. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X05000063.
Dykstra, P. A. (2009). Older adult loneliness: Myths and realities. European Journal of Ageing, 6(2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-009-0110-3.
Gilbert, P. (2010). Compassion focused therapy: A special section. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 3(2), 95–96. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2010.3.2.95.
Gilbert, P. (2018). Living like crazy. Annwyn House.
Gilbert, P., & Perris, C. (2000). Early experiences and subsequent psychosocial adaptation. An introduction. Clinical Psychology and Psychology, 7, 243–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-0879(200010)7:4<243::AID-CPP254>3.0.CO;2-H.
Gilbert, P., Baldwin, M. W., Irons, C., Baccus, J. R., & Palmer, M. (2006). Self-criticism and self-warmth: An imagery study exploring their relation to depression. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 20, 183–200. https://doi.org/10.1891/jcop.20.2.183.
Golden, J., Conroy, R. M., Bruce, I., Denihan, A., Greene, E., Kirby, M., & Lawlor, B. A. (2009). Loneliness, social support networks, mood and wellbeing in community-dwelling elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(7), 694–700. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2181.
Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 40(2), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8.
Hawkley, L. C., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Masi, C. M., Thisted, R. A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2008). From social structural factors to perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness: The Chicago health, aging, and social relations study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 63(6), S375–S384. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/63.6.s375.
Hughes, E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: Results from two populationbased studies. Research on Aging, 26, 655–672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027504268574.
Irons, C., Gilbert, P., Baldwin, M., Baccus, J., & Palmer, M. (2006). Parental recall, attachment relating and self-attacking/self-reassurance: Their relationship with depression. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45, 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466505X68230.
Kearns, A., Whitley, E., Tannahill, C., & Ellaway, A. (2015). Loneliness, social relations and health and well-being in deprived communities. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 20(3), 332–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2014.940354.
Kihlstrom, J. F. (2009). ‘So that we might have roses in December’: The functions of autobiographical memory. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 1179–1192. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1618.
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modelling (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
Lim, L. L., & Kua, E. H. (2011). Living alone, loneliness, and psychological well-being of older persons in Singapore. Current Gerontology & Geriatrics Research, 2, 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/673181.
Lyon, T. A. (2015). Self-compassion as a predictor of loneliness: The relationship between self-evaluation processes and perceptions of social connection. Selected honors theses, paper 37. http://firescholars.seu.edu/honors
Matos, M., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2010). Shame as a traumatic memory. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 17, 299–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.659.
Matos, M., Duarte, J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2017). The origins of fears of compassion: Shame and lack of safeness memories, fears of compassion and psychopathology. The Journal of Psychology, 151(8), 804–819. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2017.1393380.
Matos, M., Pinto-Gouveia, J. & Duarte, C. (2018). The Portuguese version of the early memories of warmth and safeness scale. Submitted manuscript.
Mendes, A. L., Ferreira, C., & Marta-Simões, J. (2017). How can the recall of early affiliative memories with peers influence on disordered eating behaviours? Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 22(1), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0267-7.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. (2004). Security-based self-representations in adulthood contents and processes. In W. Rholes & J. Simpson (Eds.), Adult attachment: Theory, research and clinical implications (pp. 159–195). Guilford Press.
Mushtaq, R., Shoib, S., Shah, T., & Mushtaq, S. (2014). Relationship between loneliness, psychiatric disorders and physical health? A review on the psychological aspects of loneliness. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 8(9), WE01–WE04. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2014/10077.4828.
Musich, S., Wang, S. S., Hawkins, K., & Yeh, C. S. (2015). The impact of loneliness on quality of life and patient satisfaction among older, sicker adults. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721415582119.
Oliveira, S., Ferreira, C., & Mendes, A. L. (2016). Early memories of warmth and safeness and eating psychopathology: The mediating role of social safeness and body appreciation. Psychologica, 59(2), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.14195/1647-8606_59_2_3.
Panksepp, J. (2010). Affective neuroscience of the emotional BrainMind: Evolutionary perspectives and implications for understanding depression. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 12(4), 533–545 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181986/.
Peplau, L., & Perlman, D. (1982). Perspectives on loneliness. In L. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 1–20). Wiley.
Qualter, P., Brown, S. L., Rotenberg, K. J., Vanhalst, J., Harris, R. A., Goossens, L., Bangee, M., & Munne, P. (2013). Trajectories of loneliness during childhood and adolescence: Predictors and health outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 36(6), 1283–1293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.01.005.
Richter, A., Gilbert, P., & McEwan, K. (2009). Development of an early memories of warmth and safeness scale and its relationship to psychopathology. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 82(2), 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1348/147608308X395213.
Rokach, A., Orzeck, T., Cripps, J., Lackovic-Grgin, K., & Penezic, Z. (2001). The effects of culture on the meaning of loneliness. Social Indicators Research, 53(1), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007183101458.
Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA loneliness scale (version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(1), 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2.
Russell, D. W., Cutrona, C. E., McRae, C., & Gomez, M. (2012). Is loneliness the same as being alone? The Journal of Psychology, 146, 7–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2011.589414.
Taube, E., Kristensson, J., Sandberg, M., Midlov, P., & Jakobsson, U. (2014). Loneliness and health care consumption among older people. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12147.
WHOQOL Group. (1998). Development of World Health Organization WHOQOL-Bref quality of life assessment. Psychological Medicine, 28(3), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291798006667.
Zeas-Sigüenza, A., Ganho, A., Ruisoto, P., & Ferreira, C. (2020). Validation of the Portuguese version of UCLA loneliness scale version- 3. Manuscript in prepation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
This study was approved by the Ethical Board of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Coimbra.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferreira, C., Matos-Pina, I., Cardoso, A. et al. Can the lack of early memories of warmth and safeness explain loneliness and quality of life? A community sample study on young and middle-aged Portuguese adults. Curr Psychol 42, 2924–2931 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01649-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01649-z