Investigation of psychological characteristics in people with depressive disorder

The present study compares the psychological characteristics of experiencing loneliness in people with diagnosed depressive disorder (n = 40) and conditionally healthy subjects (n = 40). The following methods were used: A differential questionnaire of loneliness (Osin, Leontiev), a scale of subjective loneliness (Russell, Ferguson), a questionnaire for determining the type of loneliness (Korchagina). Statistical analysis (U-Mann-Whitney criterion) revealed significant differences.

The following results were obtained: in people with depression, the level of subjective loneliness is significantly higher (M = 48 vs M = 29, p = 0.004), its specific forms are especially pronounced: diffuse (existential emptiness), alienating (feeling of distance when communicating, M = 11 vs M = 4, p = 0.004) and dissociated (contradiction of the thirst for contact and the fear of it, M = 9 vs M = 3, p = 0.005). A paradoxical pattern has been identified: a combination of an intense need for communication with emotional closeness and the inability to receive satisfaction from it. Patients with depression exhibit maladaptive coping strategies and an almost complete lack of positive solitude.

The subject of research in this paper is the psychological features of loneliness in people with depressive disorder.

In the course of the research, the following methods were used: theoretical methods, including the study and analysis of psychological, pedagogical and philosophical sources of literature on the research problem; empirical methods, including testing; interpretative and descriptive methods, quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis, Mann-Whitney U–test.

As a result of the study, it was concluded that loneliness in depression is qualitatively different from the norm, characterized by intense alienation, dissociation and unconstructive coping. The results emphasize the need to develop differentiated methods of psychological assistance.

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