Loneliness: Association with individual differences in socioemotional skills

Loneliness is defined as the discrepancy between the desired and actual quality and quantity of social relationships a person maintains. Several factors, such as socioemotional skills (emotion recognition, empathy, and emotion regulation), may play a role in the experience of loneliness. Socioemotional skills represent a complex set of abilities that enable individuals to understand, share, and regulate their own feelings and those of others. The present study aimed to investigate whether lonely individuals had greater difficulties in socioemotional skills compared to non-lonely individuals. A total of 298 participants (age range: 18–68) were recruited for this study and asked to complete a series of measures assessing loneliness, facial emotion recognition, empathy, and difficulties in emotion regulation. Results of comparisons between lonely and non-lonely participants (De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale cut-off score ≥ 3) revealed that the former had higher scores on facial expression recognition of fear, lower levels of empathy, and greater difficulties in emotion regulation compared to non-lonely individuals. Taken together the present findings indicate that lonely individuals may have greater difficulties with socioemotional skills than non-lonely individuals. Therefore, appropriate assessment of these abilities should be conducted when dealing with people who report high levels of perceived social isolation.