Loneliness The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation

by Weiss, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780262730419
• ISBN10: 0262730413
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1975-04-15
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

Loneliness is among the most common distresses. In one survey, a quarter of Americans interviewed said that they had suffered from loneliness within the past few weeks. Yet for a condition so pervasive, loneliness has received little professional attention. Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolationbrings together papers which attempt to capture the phenomena of loneliness with case materials that illuminate the descriptive and theoretical accounts. It is organized into seven sections, covering: explanations for the neglect of loneliness, and an attempt to describe the condition; mechanisms underlying some forms of loneliness; a discussion of situations in which loneliness is commonly found; loneliness among those suffering the loss of a loved one; the loneliness of social isolation; resources available to the lonely; and, finally, a look at issues yet to be dealt with and some suggestions for the management of loneliness. This book is a useful resource for social scientists, clinicians, and individuals who now or in the future may suffer from loneliness.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. 1
The Study of Loneliness	p. 7
The Nature of Loneliness	p. 31
Introduction	p. 33
Their Nature and Origin	p. 38
Separation Anxiety: An Aspect of the Search for a Lost Object	p. 53
Who Are the Lonely?	p. 69
Introduction	p. 71
Individuals Most Troubled by Loneliness	p. 79
The Loneliness of Emotional Isolation	p. 87
Introduction	p. 89
Loneliness: Forms and Components	p. 102
A Widower: Mr. Neilson
Alone, Alone, All, All Alone	p. 125
After the Breakup: Mrs. Graham	p. 134
The Loneliness of Social Isolation	p. 143
Introduction	p. 145
Moving and Depression in Women	p. 154
An Uprooted Woman: Mrs. Philips	p. 165
Isolation and Loneliness in the Aged	p. 175
Responses to Loneliness	p. 189
Introduction	p. 191
Relying on One's Community: Mrs. Davis	p. 197
Parents Without Partners as a Supplementary Community	p. 212
Conclusion: Summary and Implications for Further Study	p. 225
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.