Self-critical and dependent aspects of loneliness

In this study, the concept of loneliness is examined in relation to different types of depression. The Depressive Experience Questionnaire and the short form of the Revised UCLA Loneliness scale were administered to 70 normal subjects. Both anaclitic and introjective factors of depression were found to be significantly related to loneliness. Contrary to expectations self-critical (introjective) depression accounted for twice the variance of the loneliness measure than dependent (anaclitic) depression. Introjective depression as an integral component of the inner dynamic of loneliness is discussed.