Loneliness in the female adolescent.

The purpose of our study is to explore and describe loneliness in female adolescence as distinct from solitude and isolation. In keeping with other works by Ostrov and Offer [(1978) "Loneliness and the Adolescent,Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol. 6, p. 34], our concern is to define the preeminent aspects of the unfolding and evolving cycle of loneliness, and the features they may take on in adolescents in the 1980s, within the social context of Central and Southern Italy. The Offer Self-Image Questionnaire or self-descriptive questionnaire developed by Offeret al. [(1981)The Adolescent. A Psychology Self-Portrait. Basic Books, New York] has been applied to a sample of 804 female adolescents, with ages ranging from 13 to 18 years. The data were analyzed using factor analysis. Three main components were identified: (1) the area of the coping self and the psychopathological self; (2) an emotional layout characterized by a poor self-acceptance and a reduced self-confidence; (3) interpersonal relationships focusing on peer relations. Furthermore, the variance analysis shows that loneliness increases with age, and is more evident in small towns as opposed to medium-sized or larger metropolitan areas.