Loneliness and Social Isolation

Loneliness is nowadays considered to be one of the main problems in society. The negative
\\nexperience of a discrepancy between the desired and the achieved personal network of
\\nrelationships is common and affects both younger and older adults. This chapter first
\\naddresses well-established aspects and new developments in the main concepts of loneliness
\\nand social isolation, the measuring instruments and the prevalence of loneliness. The chapter
\\ncontinues by an overview of theoretical ideas regarding loneliness, focusing on individuallevel
\\nand societal predisposing characteristics as well as on genetic/evolutionary perspectives
\\non the onset and continuation of…