An Exploration of the Relationship Between Loneliness and Differential Diagnosis in a Rural Mental Health Center

The review of the literature discussed loneliness in general and specified three seperate forms of loneliness; social, psychic, and existential. The relationships between loneliness, social interaction, and pathology were discussed. 139 clients were given the Belcher Extended Loneliness Scale - Revised prior to therapy. They were assigned one of six diagnostic categories to determine loneliness score (LS), diagnostic, and sex interactions. An analysis of variance found a significant difference (p \u3c.0001) between the diagnostic categories’ LS. The schizophrenic’s and the neurotic’s LS s were significantly higher (\u3c.05) than the remaining categories. The males had significantly (p \u3c.036) higher LS than the females. It was also hypothesized that the degree of loneliness would increase the lower the diagnostic developmental level. The hypothesized order was not consistent with the results. Further research was recommended