The Causes of Loneliness
18 precipitating factors p. 23. Predisposing factors are factors that make people
vulnerable to loneliness while precipitating factors are factors that trigger loneliness.
The first predisposing factor is a person’s characteristics which are associated with loneliness such as shyness, low self-esteem, self-consciousness,
introversion, and lack of social skill. Situational factors are able to predispose people to loneliness. Some basic situational factors are time, distance and money.
For instance, a student who takes a lot of courses and gets tight schedule may have little time to make friends and interact well with his or her friends.
Cultural differences in values also considered as predisposing factors. Perlman and Peplau 1998 consider that cultural differences in value seem likely
to affect the experience of loneliness p. 573. One example of culture differences that can lead to loneliness is individualistic values. American culture has been
characterized as being individualistic and it influences their values. American values encourage personal independence and the attainment of individual
’s goals. In contrast, other cultures in Asia are more collectivistic where the values
encourage loyalty to family and harmony in social relations. The individualistic in American culture and the collectivistic in Asian Culture are the examples of
predisposing factors towards loneliness. According to Perlman and Peplau 1984, precipitating factor is an event
which usually changes a person’s actual or desiredneeded relationship p. 23. The examples of precipitating factors are the loss of an important relationship
through death, divorce, or breaking up. In addition, Cutrona 1982 in her study
19 has found that leaving family and friends to begin college, breaking up of
romantic relationship, and having problems with friends or relative are the three most frequent events that precipitate loneliness among college students as cited in
Peplau and Goldston, 1984, p. 26. Indirectly, it can be said that precipitating factors mostly come from a troubled relationship with others.
Perlman and Peplau 1998 say that loneliness can also arise from the nature of a person’s actual relationship and dissatisfaction with the quality of
existing relationship. In addition, Perlman and Peplau 1984 also state that loneliness results from a mismatch
between a person’s actual relationship and a person’s needed or desired relationship. In short, a failure to establish desired
relationship and dissatisfaction with an actual relationship can lead to loneliness.