| dc.description.abstract | Research has shown that, in comparison to nonlonely
adults, lonely adults show problems in self-^^disclosure
intimacy with peers and the current study was designed to
assess whether lonely adolescents exhibit these problems.
In the study, 37 male and 47 female early adolescents were
administered a loneliness questionnaire and later engaged
in structured interactions with male and female peer
confederate partners who provided either high or low
intimate information. As expected, subjects demonstrated
topic-^intimacy continuity with partners by choosing topics
and disclosing information higher in intimacy with the
partners who provided high as opposed to low intimacy. In
partial support of hypotheses, lonely boys chose topics
low in intimacy in response to female peers. In contrast to
other subjects, lonely boys showed a tendency to disclose
less intimate information and, paradoxically, believed that
their partners became more familiar with them. Findings
were interpreted as indicating that the disclosure skill
deficits of lonely boys disrupted the formation of
oppQsite-^sex relationships, but not necessarily chumships.
It is assumed that lack of awareness regarding low levels
of disclosure intimacy with peers is largely responsible
for the social skill deficits of these lonely individuals. | |
