A thesis for the scientific degree of PhD in specialty 053 Psychology. – State Institution of Higher Education “University of Educational Management”, Kyiv, 2023.
The thesis aimed to theoretically substantiate and experimentally study of the psychological features of experiencing loneliness in adulthood, the author's theoretical model of experiencing loneliness in adulthood is proposed, as well as a psychological program to promote the constructive experience of loneliness in adulthood.
The object of research is the experience of loneliness in adults, and the subject is the psychological factors of the constructive experience of loneliness in adults.
The purpose of the study wasto justificate theoretically and to study empirically the psychological features of experiencing loneliness in adulthood.
In today's crisis conditions, the number of psychological problems of the individual, which require an urgent solution, has increased significantly. Among these problems, a special place is occupied by the experience of loneliness, which, in particular, is caused by global social crises, such as COVID 19 and related changes in the educational system and the redistribution of jobs on the global labor market, as well as military actions in various parts of the world (Ukraine , Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia) and the social and humanitarian disasters caused by them.
According to the theoretical analysis of the literature, the main theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the experience of loneliness (psychoanalytic (psychodynamic), phenomenological, sociological, existential, interactionist, cognitive, intimate, etc.) the needs of the individual in communication and the quality of his social environment.
Conducted the experience of loneliness reaches its highest level in adulthood (although the origins and roots of this experience can be found in the individual's adolescence, and in some cases in his childhood), when a person decides most of his life goals, such as creating a family, professional and personal realization, building a "community", i.e., social resource-supporting connections. So, it is very important to consider certain specifics in the experience of loneliness for an adult personality at each life stage of adulthood.
In the structure of adult loneliness, three main components (cognitive, affective and conative (behavioral)) and two poles of a person's perception of loneliness (positive and negative) are distinguished, which are included in the author's theoretical model of experiencing this phenomenon.
The cognitive component of experiencing loneliness is determined by the degree of awareness, understanding, and evaluation of the situation of loneliness. According to the content characteristics of the cognitive component of loneliness, the peculiarities of perceiving oneself as a person who has or does not have sufficiently close relationships, the ability (inability) to find a source in alone being, satisfaction or dissatisfaction with self-realization, etc.
The affective (emotional-valuable) component of loneliness is represented by feelings such as frustration, experiencing one's own isolation, or, on the contrary, the presence of close, trusting, warm relationships with others, primarily with one's own family or romantic partner.
The conative (behavioral) component is represented by an avoiding the situations of loneliness as well as inability to be alone with oneself, and on the other side, a tolerant attitude to solitude, autonomy, the ability to resist the pressure of public opinion and the development of one's own standards of behavior.
The deficit (negative) and surplus (positive) poles correlate with the dual nature of the phenomenon of experiencing loneliness in adulthood. At the same time, we associate the transformation of the negative experience of loneliness into a positive one and its correction with strategies of overcoming behavior (coping strategies) of an adult personality
The transformation of the negative experience of loneliness into a positive one and its correction was associated with coping strategies (coping strategies) of an adult personality.
This approach opens up wide possibilities for the use of psychotherapeutic work, when there is a need to turn a negative into a positive, ensuring the transformation of a person's negative psychological state into a neutral or positive one.
