Characterizing the Dynamics of Loneliness, Depression, and the Role of Social Interactions: An Experience Sampling Study

Abstract

Loneliness is becoming increasingly recognized as a problem of clinical and public health significance (Badcock et al., 2023). Although this increase is concerning on its own, given the importance of social relationships and relational well-being to the human experience (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Bugental, 2000), loneliness is also associated with numerous mental and physical health problems (Courtin & Knapp, 2017; Luanaigh & Lawlor, 2008; Ong et al., 2016; Park et al., 2020), including depression. Despite decades of observational research showing that loneliness is a risk factor for increased depression symptom severity and caseness (Erzen & Çikrikci, 2018; Kuczynski, in prep), however, how loneliness may increase risk for depression is poorly understood. Cacioppo and colleagues’ (2006; 2018) evolutionary theory of loneliness suggests that the answer may lie in one’s response to feelings of loneliness. Do individuals engage in social interaction and reestablish connection with others or instead withdraw from others in an attempt to avoid social rejection? This study aimed to examine this very idea. Using ecological momentary assessment with a sample of 102 depressed adults, we explored whether acute (i.e., state) feelings of loneliness were associated with changes in depressed mood throughout the course of the day and whether the quantity and quality of one’s social interactions moderated this association. Guided by Kanter and colleagues’ (2020) contextual-behavioral formulation of the interpersonal process model (Reis & Shaver, 1988), we hypothesized that the association between loneliness and depressed mood would be weaker when individuals engaged in social interaction characterized by greater self- and other-disclosure and perceived responsiveness following feelings of loneliness and stronger for individuals who experience chronic feelings of loneliness. Results demonstrated that feelings of loneliness throughout the day were associated with changes in depressed mood not only at the same time point, but also 3 and 6 hours later. Individuals varied considerably in the degree to which loneliness was associated with subsequent depressed mood. Contrary to our hypotheses, neither social interaction quantity nor quality moderated this association. Methodological factors such as the timing of momentary assessments, sample demographics, and measurement strategy are considered, and implications for theory and clinical practice are discussed.