Poor Self-Control Can Lead To Feelings Of Loneliness

By Emily Reynolds Loneliness can be something of a vicious cycle. As previous research has suggested, your personality can increase your likelihood of being lonely, and loneliness can impact your personality. We also know that self-centredness can increase loneliness, that being true to yourself can reduce loneliness, and that even warming yourself up on a cold day can ease cravings for social contact. Loneliness, then, is highly dependent on personality factors as well as social factors such as discrimination, limited access to transport, and lack of social cohesion. And a new study, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, identifies another individual factor: low self-control. According to Olga Stavrova and team from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, failures of self-control can have serious social ramifications — leading to ostracism and, eventually, loneliness. The first study used data from 2,710 participants taking part in a longitudinal survey in the Netherlands. The team looked specifically at one time point in the study, where participants had answered questions on self-control, indicating how much they agreed with statements like “I am good at resisting temptation”, and loneliness, responding to statements such as “I have a sense of emptiness around me”. The researchers also examined participants’ Big Five personality traits, as well as demographic variables that have been previously associated with loneliness ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Personality Social Source Type: blogs